“Communities and countries and ultimately the world are only as strong as the health of their women.”
-Michelle Obama

Welcome to another newsletter from First Check– your one-stop shop for all the latest credible, verified, and useful health-related information.

This month I wanted to speak to you something that is very close to our hearts here, and it seemed appropriate as International Women’s Day is right around the corner- women’s health and the myriad of misinformation surrounding this.

Cervical cancer is a major challenge in India; more women die of cervical cancer in India, than in any other country, according to the National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, under the ICMR. 83 per cent of invasive cervical cancers in India are linked to certain types of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, according to government estimates.

The government has been pushing a vaccine against HPV, which can in turn help protect vulnerable women from cervical cancer as well. Just last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the centre’s plans to include this potentially life saving vaccination in the national immunisation programme.

However, no sooner than the government started speaking of plans to vaccinate girls aged nine to 14 years against the virus, social media was flooded with misinformation regarding the vaccine and its purported ill-effects. Some went as far as claiming that the vaccine can cause infertility and even death, and that the virus or cervical cancers are not significant threats.

At First Check, we understand that such misinformation can have far reaching consequences—it could cause vaccine hesitancy and make people opt against the potentially life saving vaccine, or by calling HPV and cervical cancer insignificant it could cause people to put off seeking treatment when diagnosed with the illnesses. In the worst case scenario, it could even cost lives.

This is why this month, particularly this week, we will be focusing on stories related to women’s health, to ensure that women have the right information to make decisions about their health, and in turn build a healthy society together. Women are the backbone of any society, and for a healthy society, we need to ensure that its women are healthy.

Because as always—Health Matters. Facts Matter.

And yes! I am happy to hear from you!