Poonam Pandey not considered govt's cervical cancer awareness campaign ambassador: Health ministry officials

The statement came after reports claimed that Pandey and her team are in discussions with ministry officials and that she is expected to serve as the campaign's face

Officials from the Union Ministry of Health on February 7 clarified that actress Poonam Pandey will not be regarded as a brand ambassador for the country's cervical cancer awareness campaign.

The statement came after reports claimed that Pandey and her team are in discussions with ministry officials and that she is expected to serve as the campaign's face.

The announcement of Pandey's "death" from the illness dominated the news earlier this month and sparked heated discussion on social media. Eventually, it was discovered that the actress and her team had staged the story to raise "critical awareness" about cervical cancer.

On February 3, Pandey remarked in a video that was uploaded to her official Instagram profile, "I feel compelled to share something significant with you all '? I am here, alive."

"Cervical cancer didn't claim me, but tragically, it has claimed the lives of thousands of women who stemmed from a lack of knowledge on how to tackle this disease," the 32-year-old added.

"Unlike some other cancers, cervical cancer is entirely preventable. The key lies in the HPV vaccine and early detection tests. We have the means to ensure no one loses their life to this disease. "Let's empower one another with critical awareness and ensure every woman is informed about the steps to take. Together, let's strive to put an end to the devastating impact of the disease and bring #DeathToCervicalCancer," she wrote.

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech said the government will encourage vaccination of girls in the age group of 9-14 years to prevent cervical cancer. The Union health ministry had last month said it is closely monitoring the incidence of cervical cancer in the country and is in regular touch with states and various health departments on this.

In June 2022, the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization recommended the introduction of the HPV vaccine in universal immunisation with "a one-time catch-up for 9-14 year-old adolescent girls followed with routine introduction at nine years", the Rajya Sabha was told in March. India is home to about 16 per cent of the world's women, but accounts for about a quarter of all cervical cancer incidence and nearly a third of global cervical cancer deaths.

Indian women face a 1.6 percent lifetime cumulative risk of developing cervical cancer and a 1 percent cumulative death risk from cervical cancer, officials stated. According to some recent estimates, every year almost 80,000 women develop cervical cancer and 35,000 die due to it in India.

Currently, the Serum Institute's made-in-India vaccine against cervical cancer, CERVAVAC, is available in the private market for about Rs 2,000 per dose. MSD Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merck Sharp and Dohme (known as Merck and Co, Inc in the US and Canada) continues to sell its HPV vaccine Gardasil 4 (quadrivalent vaccine) in India which is currently priced at Rs 3,927 per dose.