Bagmati Province Health Minister Launches HPV Vaccination Campaign Against Cervical Cancer in Bhaktapur

Bhaktapur. The Minister of Health for Bagmati Province, Kiran Thapa, today inaugurated a campaign in Bhaktapur to administer the 'Human Papillomavirus' (HPV) vaccine against cervical cancer to adolescent girls. Minister Thapa Magar initiated the campaign by handing over the vaccine at the program organized by the District Public Health Office in Suryabinayak today.

Appealing to everyone to make the campaign successful, he urged that no girl should miss the vaccine, as the government has provided free vaccines this year and last year. He stated that no adolescent girl should be left out of the vaccination campaign launched by the government to eradicate cervical cancer, which is the number one cancer in Nepal and is becoming alarming.

He mentioned that statistics show four people die every day in Nepal due to cervical cancer, and the government has launched the campaign to make the vaccination drive successful.

At the program, Dr. Sumitra Gautam, Secretary of the Bagmati Province Ministry of Health and an Obstetrician-Gynecologist, stated that this vaccine, administered to reduce cervical cancer in Nepal, is most effective when given before the onset of sexual activity, which is why the target age group is 10 to 14 years old.

She noted that cervical cancer is the leading cancer among women in Nepal, followed by breast cancer, and stated that the vaccination campaign in the 13 districts of Bagmati Province is being conducted in coordination with the district, local levels, and various other bodies to ensure its success.

At the program, Anjana Khadka, Chief of the District Public Health Office, stated that during the vaccination campaign running from today until Falgun 1 in Bhaktapur, 3,881 adolescent girls will be vaccinated across 35 health institutions/vaccination centers and 80 schools in Bhaktapur. She specified that this includes 3,849 girls studying in Grade 6, 163 girls in the 10-year-old age group, and 30 girls aged 7 to 10 who missed the vaccination last year.

In the campaign, 885 girls in Suryabinayak Municipality, 71 in the 10-year-old age group, 30 students who dropped out from Grade 7 to 10, and 20 adolescent girls aged 11-14 will be vaccinated. In Madhyapur Thimi Municipality, 921 will be vaccinated, 26 in the 10-year-old age group; in Bhaktapur Municipality, 1,515; and in Changunarayan Municipality, 529, including 66 girls in the 10-year-old age group.

Across the district, 163 girls in the 10-year-old age group, 30 who missed the vaccine last year from Grade 7-10, and 20 adolescent girls aged 11 to 14 who are out of school will be vaccinated in the campaign. Chief Khadka informed that girls who miss the campaign by Falgun 1 will be vaccinated through vaccination centers on Falgun 4 and 5.

Since Bhaktapur also serves as a vaccine storage center for other districts, she mentioned that it will be easy to procure additional vaccines if the number vaccinated exceeds the collected data. The office has also arranged to provide the HPV vaccine during the campaign to adolescent girls who missed it last year, those from brick kilns and various sectors, and those who are out of school, she informed.

Vaccination to be Provided to 350,000 Adolescent Girls Across the Country

The vaccination campaign, which began across various districts on Sunday, will run until Falgun 15. Dr. Abhiyan Gautam, Chief of the Child Health and Vaccination Branch at the Department of Health Services, Family Welfare Division, informed that the target is to provide the HPV vaccine to a total of 350,500 adolescent girls, including all girls studying in Grade 6, 10-year-old girls out of school, and those studying in Grade 7 to 10 and out of school aged 11 to 14 who missed the vaccination last year.

This vaccine, which started in the US for the prevention of cervical cancer, began to be administered as a campaign in Nepal starting from Falgun 22 last year. The HPV vaccine, which has been declared safe by the World Health Organization (WHO), is reportedly in use in 194 countries, including the United States.

Last year, 1,688,688 girls aged 10 to 14 were vaccinated with the HPV vaccine. More than 15,000 female health volunteers have been mobilized in the vaccination campaign nationwide.