Health Ministry Expands Free HPV Vaccination Coverage

A medical staff gives vaccine shot to a student. (Photo by: kemkes.go.id)

Ministry of Health has announced that it will expand the coverage of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to children for free in a bid to protect citizens from cervical cancer, which is the second leading cause of death in Indonesia.

“The HPV vaccine will be rolled out for free. It is really important to protect girls from cervical cancer. Mortality rate of cervical cancer patients reached 50 percent because they’re late in receiving treatment,” Ministry of Health’s Acting Director General for Disease Control and Prevention Maxi Rein Rondonuwu said on Thursday (08/10).

He also encouraged everyone especially a family that has girls between ages 11 and 12 to take their children to obtain free HPV vaccination.

Maxi went on to say that free HPV immunization has been introduced since 2016 in Special Capital Region of Jakarta. The program covered 20 regencies/municipalities in 2021 and increased to 112 regencies/municipalities in 2022. To date, 132 regencies/municipalities have introduced the free HPV vaccination program.

The Government will continue to speed up the vaccination and expand its coverage this year during Student Immunization Month.

“To make cervical cancer infection and mortality rate decline faster, we need to achieve 90 percent coverage for HPV immunization,” he added.

For the record, the Government commitment to make HPV immunization program a success is affirmed through the issuance of Joint Ministerial Decree (SKB) of Four Ministers, namely Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Minister of Health, Minister of Religious Affairs, and Minister of Home Affairs on Implementation of Health Status Improvement of Students.

In this regard, elementary schools/madrasah ibtidaiyah Muslim elementary schools/other education institutions at primary level must ensure that all students obtain full immunization status, including HPV vaccine. (PR of Ministry of Health/UN) (RAS/MUR)