06/09/2024 | Writer: Kaos GL
Özgül Saki: "When will the HPV vaccine be included in the national vaccination calendar and will free access to the vaccine be provided?"
People’s Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Istanbul MP Özgül Saki raised concerns in Parliament about the availability of the HPV vaccine and the lack of cervical cancer screening kits at one of Istanbul's largest women's hospitals. In her parliamentary inquiry, Saki pointed out that Zeynep Kamil Women's and Children's Diseases Training and Research Hospital has reportedly been without cervical cancer screening kits for two months, bringing the issue to the attention of the Health Ministry.
Saki’s statement noted that the HPV vaccine has not yet been included in Turkey’s routine vaccination schedule. She referenced Health Minister Fahrettin Koca’s 2022 promise that the HPV vaccine would be provided free of charge as part of the Expanded Programme on Immunization, with domestic vaccine production to be initiated. Despite nearly two years having passed since that announcement, no significant progress has been made. Saki highlighted the financial burden of the vaccine, with the total cost of the required doses exceeding half of the national minimum wage, and emphasized that those in high-risk groups have reduced access to the vaccine due to this cost barrier.
She directed the following questions to Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu:
· Is it accurate that cervical cancer screening kits have been unavailable at Zeynep Kamil Women’s and Children’s Diseases Training and Research Hospital for two months, and has the ministry conducted an investigation into this issue?
· What is the reason for the shortage of these kits at Zeynep Kamil Hospital?
· Are HPV testing kits currently available at Zeynep Kamil Hospital?
· Are cervical cancer screening kits available at other hospitals with obstetrics and gynaecology departments in Istanbul?
· When will the HPV vaccine be included in the national vaccination schedule, and will free access to the vaccine be ensured?
Tags: human rights, health
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