“There are currently two vaccines that protect against cancer. The first is HPV and the other is Hepatitis B,” said Hande Harmancı, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative and Head of Country Office in Azerbaijan during her interview with Paralel.Az.

According to her, children are vaccinated with Hepatitis B vaccine as part of the national vaccination program in Azerbaijan:

"This vaccine protects people from liver cancer. HPV protects against cervical cancer. I should note that this vaccine is not included in the national vaccination calendar of Azerbaijan. However, works are ongoing in this direction. Visit of Dr. Ludmila Mosina, a specialist of the WHO Regional Office for Europe, is scheduled to Azerbaijan in June, with the organization of the WHO, in order to support the inclusion of the HPV vaccine in the preventive vaccination schedule in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Health is also in a positive position in this regard. WHO recommends inclusion of HPV vaccine in the national vaccination schedule. Already 45 out of 53 countries in Europe have added this vaccine in their national calendar. In England, serious results have been achieved in this regard. Girls born after 1995 have almost never been diagnosed with cervical cancer in England. That is, they have almost reached the zero level. Such a successful program has been implemented."
She noted that WHO recommends adding two new vaccines to the national immunization program of Azerbaijan:

“These are Rota vaccine, which protects against rotavirus, and HPV, which protects against cervical cancer. At present, consultations are ongoing in Azerbaijan in the direction of introducing Rota virus and HPV vaccine. But bringing a vaccine to a country requires a long preparation process. The training of health workers, financing, which drugs to buy, etc. is a long process. I can say with satisfaction that meetings in this area have already started."