Sunanda Gavali

About Me

I am Sunanda Gavali, a passionate advocate for Reproductive Health and Social welfare. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science from Tilak Vidyapeeth, Pune, and currently serve as the Program Officer at FPA India Thane District Project. Coming from the small village of Paygaon in Bhiwandi, my journey with FPA India has been transformative, allowing me to enhance my knowledge, skills, and education.

Throughout my career, I have been honored with several awards for my contributions to community health initiatives, including the Zila Parishad Puruskar (1990), Samajsevak Puruskar by Chatrapati Shivaji Mandal (2007), and the IPPF Governing Council Award (2013). My dedication to public health also earned me the title of Special Executive Officer for Thane District from 2013 to 2018.

I am deeply committed to FPA India's mission and look forward to continuing my work in promoting health and well-being across the Thane district.

Appeal

Every 90 seconds, we lose a woman to cervical cancer, worldwide. Cervical cancer remains one of India's most frequent cancers and a top cause of cancer-related mortality in women in low- and middle-income nations1. It is primarily caused by infection with HPV (Human Papilloma Virus).

Vaccination against HPV, along with regular screening can prevent cervical cancer. Yet, many women are unaware of the simple preventive measures, and often don’t seek treatment until it is too late.

Besides, HPV vaccines are not freely available in India yet, through the public sector, and prohibitively expensive for many, if purchased through the private sector.

Secondly, despite a National Cancer Screening Programme in India that includes population level cervical cancer screening, only 1.9% of women have ever undergone screening for cervical cancer, as per the NFHS-5 report.

The campaign “ Race to Erase Cervical Cancer” launched by FPA India last year helped secure more than 900 HPV vaccine doses and conduct 16000 cervical cancer screenings over a short span of 9 months.

FPA India is on a mission to protect 100,000 adolescent girls and women from this preventable cancer, with information and access to affordable HPV vaccines for adolescent girls and cervical cancer screening for women.

I am leveraging the TMM 2025 platform to raise the required funds for accelerating this campaign
I appeal to you to donate on my page and join us in our fight against cervical cancer!

Your donation will help FPA India conduct

1. Awareness sessions on cervical cancer prevention
2. Address vaccine hesitancy, procure HPV vaccines and conduct vaccination drives in schools and communities
3. Conduct cervical cancer screenings and offer continuum of care to those in need.

Cervical cancer is a preventable disease. It is also curable if detected early and adequately treated.

Join us in our Race to Erase Cervical Cancer by donating now!!

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