India's Union Health Ministry confirmed on Monday that its national HPV vaccination drive had administered more than one crore doses, extending a campaign to protect adolescent girls against cervical cancer. The milestone followed reports of 80 lakh doses delivered earlier this month.

The programme targets girls aged 9 to 14 as part of the government's push to eliminate cervical cancer, which the Indian Council of Medical Research has identified as the second most common cancer among Indian women. Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram have each reported full coverage of their respective target cohorts.

The campaign relies substantially on the indigenously developed Cervavac vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, which was introduced to reduce dependence on imported doses and lower per-dose costs. Domestic production allows the drive to scale across rural districts through the existing Universal Immunisation Programme.

The government intends to fold HPV vaccination formally into the routine immunisation schedule, a step long recommended by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation. Public health specialists at AIIMS Delhi have argued that sustained school-based delivery will be essential to reach girls outside the formal health system.

The World Health Organization has set a target of vaccinating 90 percent of girls by age 15 as part of its global strategy to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem by 2030.