KATHMANDU: The government is all set to launch a nation-wide vaccination programme against cervical cancer from the first week of January 2026.

The Human papilloma virus (HPV) Vaccination Programme will be implemented under the regular national immunization calendar.

The vaccination programme is going to be carried out by the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) with the technical support from the UNICEF, it was shared at a programme organized here on Monday.

Speaking at the programme, Dr Abhiyan Gautam, Chief of the Health and Immunization Service Section at the MoHP, stated that all necessary preparations have been completed to begin the vaccination programme on time.

“Festivals or election may affect the vaccination programme to some extent, but preparations are nearly complete to set the vaccination drive in the first week of January and conclude it by the mid-January,” he said, adding that detailed information and schedules will be made public soon.

According to Dr Gautam, the vaccine will be administered to around 350,000 girls above 10 years who are studying in grade 6 this year.

Last year, the government had administered HPV vaccine to more than 1.688 million girls aged between 10 to 14 years.

Likewise, there were two doses of the vaccine last year while only a single dose will be administered this year, he added.