Free HPV vaccination programs led by local authorities have now covered 40 percent of girls aged around 13 to 14 years old nationwide, the National Health Commission said in a news conference on Friday.

Delivering human papillomavirus vaccines to adolescent girls is essential to curbing the incidence of cervical cancer.

Since 2021, 11 provincial-level regions, as well as a number of cities, have begun offering free HPV vaccines for local girls aged 13 to 14, said Shen Haiping, director of the commission's maternal and child health department.

Meanwhile, free HPV screening programs have covered more than 2,700 county-level regions across China and provided 280 million free tests. As a result, approximately 902,000 patients with cervical cancer or precancerous conditions have been identified.

Authorities have also delivered financial assistance to 275,000 cervical cancer patients who cannot afford medical expenditures.

China reported 151,000 new cervical cancer cases and 56,000 related deaths in 2022.

Shen said that due to rapid urbanization and changes in lifestyle, the risk of females contracting HPV is rising, as well as the number of younger patients infected.