Agartala, September 03, 2025: Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) remain the foremost cause of death worldwide, posing heavy health and economic challenges. In India, cancer has become a growing concern with increasing cases and fatalities across all age groups. To tackle this, the National Health Mission (NHM) has intensified efforts toward prevention, early detection, treatment, and long-term management.

Taking a decisive step forward, the Government of Tripura has launched a 100 Days Special Cancer Screening Campaign from 1st September 2025, under NHM. The initiative seeks to accelerate cancer screening for the state’s population while strengthening healthcare capacity at the grassroots.

A central feature of the campaign is training healthcare service providers—including Medical Officers, Nursing Officers, Community Health Officers, ANMs, and ASHAs—to ensure timely detection. Towards this, a Training of Trainers (ToT) program on Cervical, Breast, and Oral Cancer screening was inaugurated on 2nd September 2025 at Pragna Bhawan, Agartala, in collaboration with Jhpiego, NHM Tripura’s technical partner. The program aims to create a pool of master trainers who will equip providers at Sub-Centre and Primary Health Centre levels, and guide ASHAs in district-level training.

The inaugural event was attended by Dr. Shiromani Debbarma, Medical Superintendent, ABV Regional Cancer Centre, Dr. Nirmal Sarker, Joint Director, Family Welfare & Preventive Medicine, Dr. Asutosh Padhi, National Program Manager, Jhpiego, and Dr. Abhijit Das, State Program Officer (NCD), NHM Tripura. Speakers underscored that timely screening is pivotal in reducing cancer-related mortality and disability.

Jhpiego, an international non-governmental organization, is extending voluntary technical support by providing expertise in cancer screening and early detection. The training sessions are being conducted by Dr. Asutosh Padhi, Dr. Anupama Rao (Senior Technical Advisor), and Dr. Swagatika Senapati (Program Officer) from Jhpiego.

Under this 100-day drive, Tripura aims to complete the training of all designated healthcare providers and roll out ASHA-level training across districts—laying the groundwork for a sustainable state-wide cancer screening program.