Neerja Bhatla
An AIIMS gynaecologist who has led India's work to prevent cervical cancer with affordable screening and HPV vaccines, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2025.
Cervical cancer is largely preventable, yet it kills many Indian women. Neerja Bhatla has spent two decades finding affordable ways to stop it. In 2025 she was named for the Padma Shri in the field of medicine, from Delhi [1].
At AIIMS
Bhatla was born on 2 January 1959 [2]. She studied medicine at AIIMS, New Delhi, joined its faculty in 1989 and went on to head its department of obstetrics and gynaecology [2].
Screening that works in clinics
Her research has tested tools that health workers can use in primary health centres: visual inspection with acetic acid, low-cost HPV tests, portable battery-operated devices and AI-enabled equipment, as well as HPV vaccines, with a focus on Indian-made technology [2]. Through partnerships with paramilitary welfare programmes, Rotary and companies, her work has reached lakhs of women [2].
Shaping global guidelines
She helped write national guidelines on screening, treatment and HPV vaccination [2]. She was the first Indian to chair the FIGO committee on gynaecologic oncology, which revised the international staging of cervical cancer, and she is a member of the WHO expert group on eliminating cervical cancer [2].
In 2023 she received the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer’s award for women in cancer research [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2025: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2025: citation for Neerja Bhatla — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
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