AIIMS Hosts India’s First National Summit to Accelerate Cervical Cancer Elimination

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, on Monday inaugurated the first National Summit on the Elimination of Cervical Cancer in India, marking a significant step in advancing the country’s public health agenda. The summit brought together the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, State National Health Missions (NHMs), leading cancer institutions, global agencies, clinicians, researchers, patient advocates, media and technology partners, underscoring a collective resolve to translate policy commitments into sustained on-ground action.

Organised by the Departments of Radiation Oncology, Surgical Oncology, and Onco-Anaesthesia and Palliative Medicine at DRBRAIRCH, AIIMS, the summit focused on three core pillars of cervical cancer elimination. These included scaling up human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, strengthening screening through high-performance HPV DNA testing—including self-sampling—and ensuring effective and equitable cancer care. Deliberations also centred on developing uniform national standard operating procedures (SOPs), enabling hub-and-spoke care models, and streamlining treatment and follow-up pathways to deliver consistent, high-quality care across the country.

Addressing the inaugural session, Aradhana Patnaik, Additional Secretary and Managing Director, National Health Mission, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to eliminating cervical cancer as a public health problem. She said the goal was achievable for India through rapid expansion of HPV vaccination, strengthening screening at all levels—particularly via HPV DNA testing—and ensuring timely diagnosis and treatment for every woman.

NITI Aayog Member (Health) Prof Dr V K Paul emphasised the need for evidence-based implementation models, calling for pilot projects to demonstrate large-scale deployment of HPV DNA-based screening and self-sampling, especially through primary healthcare platforms. He said such initiatives would help build a national model ensuring timely screening, accurate diagnostics and seamless follow-up for women across India.

Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Vijay Nehra, outlined the government’s initiatives and roadmap to strengthen cancer care delivery across regions, while Dr Abhishek Shankar, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, DRBRAIRCH, AIIMS, stressed the importance of breaking silos by bringing together government agencies, clinicians, innovators and patient advocates to accelerate prevention, early detection and effective treatment.

Representing the diagnostics industry, Vaibhav Kohli, Head – Marketing, Access and Commercial Excellence, Roche Diagnostics India and Neighbouring Markets, highlighted the critical role of accuracy and accessibility in cervical cancer screening.

The summit saw participation from over 500 delegates, including representatives from AIIMS campuses across the country, state health departments, cancer institutes, the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, the Indian Council of Medical Research, civil society organisations and industry partners. The event concluded with a National Call to Action, outlining priority steps to fast-track India’s roadmap towards eliminating cervical cancer.