Kathmandu, 4 February: Minister for Health and Population Pradeep Poudel has said that the HPV vaccination campaign against cervical cancer has been launched to make Nepal healthy in the future.
He urged everyone to promote and support this vaccine from their respective places so that no adolescent girl is deprived of it. Addressing the launch program of the HPV Vaccination Campaign 2081 today, Minister Poudel said, “The government’s objective is that the target group should not miss out on the vaccine as the vaccine and manpower have reached all over the country. This will help in making Nepal healthy. The campaign will work to make Nepal healthy in the future.”
Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Roshan Pokharel, said that the vaccination campaign was launched with the aim of solving the problem of cervical cancer once and for all. He said, “Every year, we will give this vaccine to teenage girls through the regular vaccination schedule, we want to ensure a safe future for every child.”
Speaking at the program, Director General of the Department of Health, Dr. Bikash Devkota, said that Nepal is proud to have included this vaccine, which is being used in 145 countries. He said, “The burden of non-communicable diseases is increasing in the country, including the burden of cancer. Every day, six people are diagnosed with cervical cancer and four die. That is why we have started the HPV vaccination campaign in adolescence. This is a school-focused vaccination campaign. The vaccine will be given to girls who have missed school and are out of school.
The Ministry has launched a free HPV vaccination campaign against cervical cancer across the country from today until February 20. The government aims to vaccinate a total of 1,688,768 girls. The vaccination is being given to girls studying in grades 6 to 10 and girls aged 10 to 14 who are not attending school.
मनहरी, २२ माघः ज्ञानदा माध्यमिक विद्यालयबाट पाठेघरको मुखको क्यान्सर विरुद्धको खोप अभियानको मङ्गलवार मकवानपुरको हेटौँडा–१० स्थित उद्घाटनपश्चात् सम्बोधन गर्नुहुँदै बागमती प्रदेशका मुख्यमन्त्री बहादुरसिंह लामा । तस्बिरः मणिराज गौतम÷रासस Chief Minister of Bagmati Province Bahadur Singh Lama addressing after inaugurating the HPV vaccination campaign against cervical cancer organized at Gyanada Secondary School in Hetauda Sub-metropolitan City-10, Makawanpur on Tuesday. Photo: Maniraj Gautam/RSS
‘It is better to seek treatment than to hide the disease’
Bagmati Province Chief Minister Bahadur Singh Lama has urged people to get timely treatment instead of keeping the disease hidden as cervical cancer remains a challenge. He stressed the need to treat the disease at its early stages and eradicate it.
Inaugurating the HPV vaccination campaign starting from Gyanada Secondary School in Hetauda-10, Makawanpur today, Chief Minister Lama said that thousands of women in Nepal are affected by cervical cancer every year.
Stating that four women die from cervical cancer every day in Nepal, he said that an HPV vaccination campaign has been launched in coordination with the three levels of government to control this horrific situation.
According to Chief Minister Lama, in recent times, cancer has become not only a fatal disease but also a financially complex one. He said that more is being spent on the management of ancillary diseases than on the treatment of cancer.
Speaking at the event, Provincial Health Minister Kiran Thapa said that the death rate from non-communicable diseases is increasing in Nepal. Stating that 70 percent of people are dying from non-communicable diseases, he said that it is a challenge to stop the damage caused by non-communicable diseases.
