One of the very few cancers that can be prevented with the help of a vaccine is cervical cancer, which is caused by the Human papillomavirus and in most cases is transmitted sexually. The demographic which is most at risk of cervical cancer is sex workers, by virtue of their profession. Acknowledging this, the youth ambassador at Sachhi Saheli, Aarna Bhura, launched a fundraiser to vaccinate sex workers against cervical cancer which initiated “Project Asha”.

After generating awareness around cervical cancer and the need for the vaccine among sex workers at GB Road in the later days of March’22 and conducting a pap smear exam on them on May 17th, 2022, in order to screen them for any trace of an infection, which would exclude them from the vaccination drive, Dr. Surbhi Singh administered the first dose (of three doses) of the vaccine ‘Gardasil’ on June 28th, 2022.

This project is being run in collaboration with Rotary Club West and Join TI.

MEDIA LINK https://www.aajtak.in/health/story/dr-surbhi-vaccination-cancer-drive-for-sex-worker-at-gb-road-1491607-2022-07-01