Banke to vaccinate 8,500+ girls against cervical cancer

KATHMANDU: More than 8,500 girls in Banke district are set to receive the HPV (Human Papillomavirus) vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, health officials announced on Tuesday.

At a vaccine coordination committee meeting in Banke, Chief of the District Health Office, Sunita Paudel, outlined that the vaccination program will cover 6,531 school-going girls and 2,053 out-of-school girls, totaling 8,584 beneficiaries.

The vaccine distribution is planned as follows: Rapti Sonari Rural Municipality – 720; Kohalpur Municipality – 1,706; Baijanath Rural Municipality – 880; Janaki Rural Municipality – 672; Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City – 2,424; Dudhuwa Rural Municipality – 441; and Narainapur Rural Municipality – 721.

The target group includes girls in Grade 6, out-of-school girls aged 10, and girls who missed last year’s vaccination program, specifically those now studying in Grades 7 to 10 and girls aged 11 to 14.

Paudel emphasized that the vaccine protects against HPV types 16 and 18, which are the primary causes of cervical cancer.

She noted that, on average, four women in Nepal die each day from cervical cancer.

Medical Superintendent at Bheri Hospital, Dr. Nirajan Subedi hailed the vaccination drive as a significant achievement in Nepal’s medical field.

The vaccination campaign in the district will run from Feb 8 to 16, with Rapti Sonari Rural Municipality and Kohalpur Municipality starting on Feb 9. Last year, 33,759 girls in Banke received the HPV vaccine.