CHENNAI: In a major push to strengthen preventive healthcare and tertiary paediatric services, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday launched the State's Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination programme aimed at preventing cervical cancer and laid the foundation stone for a Rs 417.07 crore children's super-speciality hospital and research centre at Guindy.
Rolling out the HPV vaccination drive virtually at the Chennai Trade Centre, Nandambakkam, Stalin inaugurated the pilot phase of the programme under which 30,209 14-year-old girls in government and government-aided schools in Dharmapuri, Perambalur, Tiruvannamalai and Ariyalur districts will be vaccinated. The chief minister also released the action plan document of the Tamil Nadu Cancer Care Mission.
The programme follows an announcement made in the 2025-26 State Budget, which earmarked Rs 36 crore to gradually extend HPV vaccination to all 14-year-old girls across Tamil Nadu. The State has set a target of vaccinating 3.38 lakh adolescent girls in phases. Health officials said the vaccine can effectively prevent cervical cancer caused by HPV infection, which remains the second most common cancer affecting women in Tamil Nadu after breast cancer.
Later in the day, the chief minister laid the foundation stone for a 750-bed children's super-speciality hospital and research institution at the King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research campus, Guindy. The facility, to be built at a cost of Rs 417.07 crore by the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University, will come up on 6.5 acres with a built-up area of over 4.63 lakh sq ft.
Announced in the 2024-25 Health Department policy note, the hospital will cater primarily to south Chennai and is designed as a centre of excellence in paediatric care, education and research. It will house advanced departments including paediatric cardiology, neurology, oncology, nephrology, gastroenterology, intensive care units, bone marrow transplant facilities, catheterisation labs and state-of-the-art operating theatres.