HPV vaccination underway

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Feb. 11: The Nepal government has been administering the HPV vaccine against cervical cancer across the country since Sunday.

At least 300,000 girls are benefiting from the vaccination campaign. According to health officials, girls in grade six and girls aged 10 years will receive the HPV vaccine.

Last year, the government administered the vaccine to 1.6 million girls across the country, including those in grades six to ten, as well as girls aged 10 to 14 who were out of school. Of those, 94 per cent girls received the HPV vaccine. However, those who missed the vaccine last year will also receive it this year. The Ministry of Health and Population is operating the vaccination programme this year, aiming to administer the vaccine to girls in grade six and those aged 10 years. By the second day of the vaccination programme, hundreds of girls in most districts across the country had been vaccinated against HPV.

However, the Ministry of Health and Population has stated that HPV vaccination will be administered in April in some areas. “Due to extreme cold and snowfall, HPV vaccination will be administered in some mountainous districts in April,” the Minister said.

Meanwhile, Minister Dr. Sudha Sharma Gautam urged everyone to receive the HPV vaccine with confidence. Releasing a video message, she stated that the HPV vaccine is safe.

According to Dr. Abhiyan Gautam, head of the Vaccination Section under the Family Welfare Division, the vaccination programme targets girls studying in grade six and those aged 10 years.

According to health experts, cervical cancer is one of the major causes of death among women in Nepal. The main cause of cervical cancer is the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can be transmitted through skin-to-skin contact, as HPV is a communicable disease. There are more than 200 types of HPV, but 12 types can cause cancer in the human body. Of these, 80 per cent of cervical cancer cases are caused by HPV types 16 and 18, experts say.

It is estimated that 2,169 women develop cervical cancer each year in Nepal, of whom 1,313 die from the disease.