Sudha Murty's Cervical Cancer Vaccination And Gates Foundation Project
The new Rajya Sabha MP Sudha Murty in her maiden speech proposed a government-sponsored vaccination programme to fight cervical cancer.
It was while highlighting the importance of women’s health, Murty brought the topic of cervical cancer to everyone’s attention.
Sudha Murty says that many women suffer in real life due to cervical cancer, and they reach hospital only at the fourth stage or third stage. She says that being worked in the area for the past 30 years in the Infosys foundation, she wanted to put forward vaccination to combat cervical cancer.
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“There is a vaccination which is given to girls, between the age of nine and 14, known as a cervical vaccination. If the girls take that, it (cancer) can be avoided … we should promote vaccination for the benefit of our girls because prevention is better than cure,” Sudha Murty said.
The cervical cancer is majorly caused by Human papillomavirus, or HPV, infection. This cancer starts in the cervix, the lower part of the uterus that connects to the vagina. Early stage diagnosis and treatment can cure cervical cancer.
To prevent infection, vaccines are made available India and government is initiating steps to make vaccines more accessible. During the interim Budget 2024-25 speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government encourages girls aged 9-14 to get vaccinated against cervical cancer. In March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised the elimination of cervical cancer in the country. Further, he has decided to fund research and a vaccination campaign for young girls across India.
Also Read | Cervical Cancer In India, Lower Screening Rates, And Serum Institute’s Cheaper Vaccine Shorts: Report
Meanwhile, Sudha Murty‘s suggestion for cervical cancer vaccination drive opened mixed responses in the social media. As many users welcomed her proposal for government involvement in pushing HPV vaccine shots, some recollected about the controversial Bill Gates Foundation project in India.
It was in mid-2009, the HPV vaccine “demonstration projects” were conducted by the Seattle-based NGO, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the State governments of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. It was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
There were media reports and online claims that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has paralysed more than 300,000 children as a result of testing vaccines in India. However, there were no evidence to support the claim that vaccine projects of the Gates foundation have injured or disabled thousands of girls, and as a result, they have been “kicked out of India”. Later, fact checks conducted by several media outlets concluded that the claims were false since no credible reports were located.
