One thing I would want every girl in Indonesia to understand before adulthood is that HPV vaccination should go hand in hand with responsible decisions about sexual health.
HPV, which causes almost all cervical cancers, is primarily transmitted through sexual contact. Girls who receive the vaccine should understand its benefits and limitations, rather than assume that vaccination makes all sexual activity risk-free.
In Indonesia, many communities place great importance on abstinence before marriage. I believe cervical cancer prevention messages should respect these cultural and religious values and recognise their role in encouraging people to avoid risky behaviour. My concern is that international health discussions sometimes give insufficient attention to the values that communities draw upon to guide responsible choices.
This reminds me of my experience practising as a general practitioner. Some patients wanted medication to control their blood pressure but were reluctant to change habits that contributed to their condition, such as physical inactivity or an unhealthy diet. Although the circumstances are different, the broader lesson is relevant: providing a medical intervention should be accompanied by helping people understand the behaviours that affect their health.
For HIFA, I would therefore encourage reliable, age-appropriate information that explains HPV vaccination while also supporting responsible behaviour and respecting local values. Such communication should be compassionate and avoid blaming women who develop HPV infection or cervical cancer. Girls deserve both access to effective prevention and the understanding they need to make informed choices.
HIFA profile: Jum'atil Fajar is Medical Care Director at RSUD, the Dr. H Soemarno Sosroatmodjo Hospital, in Indonesia. Professional interests: helping health professional to access up to date health and medical information to improve services. Jum'atil is a HIFA and CHIFA Country Representative. jumatil AT gmail.com
[*Note from HIFA moderator (NPW): Thank you for your input Jumatil and for all you do as HIFA country representative in Indonesia. For the benefit of others, here is the citation and URL to the paper you reference:
Febrina Yolanda et al. Multi-stakeholder perspectives on cervical cancer screening implementation in Indonesia: A qualitative study of cervical screening barriers in Banda Aceh. Narra J 2026; 6(1): e3022-http://doi.org/10.52225/narra.v6i1.3022
https://narraj.org/main/article/view/3022 ]