Pokhara, February 26

As many as 6,700 young girls will be immunised against Human Poplilloma Virus in Kaski as part of a campaign that aims to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer among women.

According to Chief of District Public Health Office Sagar Prasad Ghimire, the two-week long campaign beginning from February 28 aims to immunise 6,500 girls between the age of six and ten years of as many as 348 schools in the district in the first phase.

In its second phase, around 200 girls between the age of 10 and 11 years will be immunised.

Though a single doze of the vaccine costs Rs 10,000, the vaccines will be administered free of cost to young girls.

Ek Narayan Lamsal, immunisation officer at the DPHO, said 300 health workers would be deployed to administer the vaccines. The immunisation drive will be carried out in Pokhara sub-metropolitan city from February 28 until March 4.

Meanwhile, in Lekhnath municipality and other 32 VDCs of the district, the campaign is scheduled to run from March 5 to 13.

All the schools, which run classes up to grade six, and nearby health facilities, will be transformed into immunisation centres. Nanibabu Dhakal, focal person at District Public Health Office, Kaski, said they were mostly focusing on grade six girls.

“It is crucial that the vaccine is administered to girls before they have their first sexual contact,” said Mukunda Gautam, chief of Immunisation Department.

Similarly, trained health workers will also diagnose women’s uterus problems. A large number of women ranging from 35 to 64 years of age face various problems related to uterus, whereas more than 70 per cent of the patients suffer from diseases caused by HPV infection, said Gautam.

According to a report unveiled by BP Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital,10,000 Nepali women suffer from uterus prolapse every year.

“This programme will be effective in disseminating the message that early marriage and sexual intercourse at an early age should be prohibited to prevent uterus cancer,” said Lamsal.