NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a free HPV vaccination drive on Saturday for young girls across India, which has the world’s highest rate of cervical cancer deaths. 

India records around 120,000 new cases of cervical cancer annually and around 80,000 deaths. It is the second-most-common cancer among women in the country. 

India has the highest number of cervical cancer deaths, followed by China and Indonesia. The number of cases in India is the second highest globally, after China. 

With cervical cancer largely preventable through HPV vaccination and regular screening, the new campaign aims to vaccinate around 11.5 million 14-year-old Indian girls annually. 

“The prime minister launched the nationwide HPV vaccination campaign … describing it as a pivotal step toward empowering India’s ‘Nari Shakti’ (women power) and ensuring the health of mothers and daughters,” Modi’s office said in a statement. 

Under the campaign, a dose of HPV vaccine will be provided free of cost at all government health centers across the country for all 14-year-old girls, said Anupriya Satel, minister of state for health and family welfare. 

“This initiative is a historic step towards protecting our adolescent girls from serious diseases like cervical cancer,” she wrote on X. 

The launch event, which took place in the northern city of Ajmer, also saw a few young girls receiving the HPV vaccine on stage.

The vaccination is a “powerful preventive step that can save lives,” according to a statement from India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which also said that HPV vaccinations can help families “secure a healthier, cancer-free future for India’s daughters.”