Overview
- Roughly 123,000 Indian women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year and about 77,000 die, accounting for a large share of South‑East Asia’s burden.
- NFHS‑5 and other data show persistently low screening uptake with sharp state disparities, with higher coverage in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and single‑digit or sub‑1% rates reported in several states.
- Ayushman Arogya Mandirs number over 170,000 nationwide, yet screening is irregular and many facilities lack strong referral and tracking systems to ensure timely diagnosis and treatment.
- More than 10 crore screenings were reported under the National Health Mission by mid‑2025, but this still represents a fraction of eligible women and many are screened only once or opportunistically.
- Experts cite stigma, low awareness, limited decision‑making autonomy, misconceptions, asymptomatic early disease, and frontline referral gaps as drivers of late detection, while the Cervavac rollout remains uneven despite strong evidence that organised screening and HPV vaccination sharply reduce mortality.