Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Friday announced that all girls below the age of 14 in the state will receive free vaccination against cervical cancer from April 2026. Women aged 30 to 65 will also be provided free cervical cancer test kits from the same month to facilitate early detection and treatment.
Speaking at the platinum jubilee celebration of Buriakhop School in Soreng district, Tamang said the initiative aims to safeguard the population from one of the most common cancers affecting women worldwide. “When the world has preventive measures for avoiding such diseases, then we must go ahead with such programmes for the benefit of those who can be saved from this dreaded ailment,” he said.
Cervical cancer, caused primarily by the human papillomavirus (HPV), is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in India, with the World Health Organization (WHO) recommending vaccination for girls before they become sexually active. Children under 14 have been targeted as the vaccine is most effective at this age.
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“By 2026, we will give these vaccinations to children in all state hospitals. This is a much-needed initiative the state government is taking, and we want all to participate in this mission,” Tamang added.
The move aligns with India’s broader public health efforts to reduce the burden of cervical cancer, which affects an estimated 1.2 lakh women annually in the country, with roughly 77,000 deaths. Sikkim becomes one of the few states to offer universal HPV vaccination to girls, joining other early adopters such as Punjab, signalling a major step in preventive healthcare in the North-East.
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