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This photo, provided by Cheong Wa Dae, shows President Moon Jae-in responding to a civic petition requesting further government support for protecting girls against cervical cancer. (Cheong Wa Dae) |
President Moon Jae-in pledged Thursday to expand South Korea's free cervical cancer vaccination program to benefit all girls under age 18.
"(The government) will enlarge the scope of beneficiaries of the free vaccination program to include girls up to the age of 17 from the current cap at age 12," Moon said in response to a civic petition submitted on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of Cheong Wa Dae's online public petition service.
"I will work to entitle all female adolescents to benefit from free vaccinations (against cervical cancer)," the president noted.
Moon said he also plans to include women aged between 18-26 and in low-income brackets in the expanded free vaccination program and further increase the number of beneficiaries down the road.
Cervical cancer is known to be the only cancer preventable through vaccination. But the high vaccination cost, at around 600,000 won ($512) locally, has put vaccines out of the reach of some women.
The president also vowed further government support for women under infertility treatment.
According to the pledge, women will be entitled to receive two additional rounds of subfertility procedures as part of national health insurance benefits, starting in the fourth quarter this year.
"I hope this can help relieve the financial burden of married couples with infertility issues," the president noted. "(The government) will further expand support for infertility-related treatment in this era of low birthrates." (Yonhap)
