HPV Vaccine and Community Support Effective in Preventing Cervical Cancer

Oncology expert Dr See Hui Ti from Parkway Cancer Centre Singapore has stated that the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and community support are effective in preventing cervical cancer in women. “There is no more effective way than vaccination. As an Indonesian, if you have children, both boys and girls, HPV vaccination as recommended by the government, which is now being rolled out from school age, is the most correct way,” she said during a media discussion in South Jakarta on Thursday. Dr See Hui Ti also stressed the importance of community support for women to prevent cervical cancer more effectively, because prevention through vaccination and healthy living tips will be useless if a woman grows up in an environment without supportive community backing. “So, if we decide to have children when married, with parents or an environment willing to support the child’s development, or the entire family becoming a supportive community, that is actually the key. The main reason a person can live a long life is if they live in a healthy community that fully supports every woman to be healthier,” she explained. “Now young women have more choices, some want to marry or not marry, but when we are 60 years old, we need a family or community that supports us in old age. So, women must also be able to find supportive friends who will back them in their later years. The most important thing is to maintain one’s own mental health and keep the environment supportive,” she added. The Ministry of Health provides free HPV vaccination for girls in grades 5 and 6 of primary school. This vaccination is mandatory to prevent cervical cancer and is administered through the School Child Immunisation Month programme, routinely held every August and November. The national programme targets children aged 11 and 12 years, with two doses administered. The HPV vaccination is considered crucial and effective in reducing the mortality rate from cervical cancer, which remains quite high in Indonesia. The Ministry of Health is targeting 90 percent HPV vaccination coverage for 15-year-old girls by 2030. This achievement will be an important milestone in efforts to prevent cervical cancer, which poses a serious health threat to women.