DEM Party calls for free and accessible HPV vaccine in Turkey

Meral Danış Beştaş, a lawmaker from the DEM Party, has urged Turkey to make the HPV vaccine accessible and free for all citizens. Beştaş stated that the HPV vaccine is a crucial preventative health service for combating cancer, not a luxury item. She expressed concern that recent statements by Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu, suggesting Turkey has a "different HPV profile," have created new uncertainties regarding the long-awaited free vaccination program.

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HPV vaccine is not a luxury, it is a protective health service that prevents cancer.

Beştaş criticized the minister's remarks, emphasizing that scientific data clearly supports the need for widespread HPV vaccination. "Our approach to the issue is clear and simple: the HPV vaccine must be necessary, accessible, and free," she stated. She questioned the logic of making access to preventative healthcare dependent on income level, especially amid economic hardship. "It is unacceptable that a necessary vaccine continues to be delayed under these conditions," Beştaş added.

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The Health Minister's statement 'Turkey's HPV profile is different' has created new uncertainty regarding free vaccination, which has been awaited for years.

The lawmaker highlighted that protecting citizens, young or old, from cancer is a fundamental responsibility of the state. She pointed out that the Ministry of Health had previously made promises regarding free HPV vaccination that have yet to be fulfilled. Beştaş also mentioned that legislative proposals submitted by her party in the Grand National Assembly aimed at implementing free HPV vaccination are still pending in committee.

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Our approach to the issue is clear and simple: the HPV vaccine must be necessary, accessible, and free.

"The demand for the HPV vaccine to be implemented freely for everyone must be immediately put on the agenda and implemented. This is the demand and expectation of the entire public," Beştaş concluded, urging swift action from the government to ensure universal access to this vital preventative health measure.

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Is access to health dependent on income level? It is unacceptable that a necessary vaccine continues to be delayed under these conditions.