Health Secretary Launches  Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Agartala, Tripura, 1st of October, 2026 : To create greater awareness about breast cancer among people across all sections of society in the State, Shri Kiran Gitte, IAS, Secretary, Health Department, formally launched the statewide mass awareness campaign titled “Breast Cancer Awareness Month – October 2026” at the State Guest House in Agartala.

The inauguration ceremony was held in the presence of Shri Saju Vaheed, IAS, Additional Secretary, Health Department and Mission Director, National Health Mission–Tripura; Shri Dr. G. Sharath Nayak, CEO, State Health Agency; the Director of Health Services; Joint Directors of the Department; Joint Mission Directors of NHM; the Project Director, Tripura State AIDS Control Society; Chief Medical Officers from all districts; and other senior state- and district-level officials.

As part of the month-long awareness campaign, various activities will be conducted at different levels in collaboration with AIIMS and Jhpiego. These will include workshops, consultative discussions with healthcare providers and ASHA workers, seminars in medical and paramedical educational institutions, talk shows through various mass media platforms, social media campaigns, and interpersonal awareness activities with Panchayat representatives and other local-level public representatives. In addition, village- and community-level awareness activities will be conducted through Village Health and Nutrition Days (VHNDs) by Community Health Officers (CHOs) and ANMs.

During the inauguration, various informative awareness posters prepared for the general public were also unveiled. Jhpiego is providing technical assistance to this initiative with the aim of increasing awareness about breast cancer in Tripura and strengthening breast cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment services.

At the beginning of the programme, Dr. Shouvik Debbarma, Member Secretary, State Health & Family Welfare Society, addressed the gathering and highlighted the importance of increasing awareness about breast cancer. He also made a brief presentation outlining the activities planned for the month-long awareness campaign.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is observed globally every year throughout October. The key objectives of the campaign are to increase awareness about breast health, promote early detection of cancer, create awareness about risk factors, and ensure continuity of treatment and care for patients.

Breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers among women worldwide and remains a significant public health concern. According to GLOBOCAN 2022, approximately 2.3 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer globally in 2022, and approximately 670,000 women died from the disease. This number of deaths is approximately 2.5 times the number of maternal deaths worldwide. In India, an estimated 237,231 new breast cancer cases and 96,100 deaths were recorded in 2024. Breast cancer accounts for approximately 30.4% of all cancers occurring among women in the country.

According to data from the ICMR Tripura Population-Based Cancer Registry (PBCR), 2012–2016, breast cancer is also an important health concern among women in Tripura. Breast cancer accounted for 14.4% of all registered cancers among women in the State, meaning that approximately one in every 123 women is at risk of developing the disease.

The Secretary, Health Department, called upon people from all sections of society to actively participate in the awareness campaign. He emphasized the importance of collective efforts to strengthen early detection, prevention, treatment, and care services for breast cancer. He stated that active participation from all sections of society would help increase awareness about breast cancer in Tripura and encourage people to seek health services in a timely manner.