Dec 14, Kathmandu- The national vaccination schedule includes the HPV vaccine, a vaccine against cervical cancer. HPV vaccine helps protect against cervical cancer. The main cause of cervical cancer is considered to be HPV, or 'human papillomavirus'.

The government has been providing free vaccines against 11 diseases including Japanese encephalitis, measles and rubella, typhoid, pneumonia, polio, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenza B, and tuberculosis, and the cervical cancer vaccine has also been added.

The eleven vaccines against diseases must be completed within 15 months of birth, while the additional HPV vaccine will be administered to girls studying in grade 6 and 10-year-old girls who are not attending school. The National Immunization Advisory Committee has already recommended including the HPV vaccine in the national immunization schedule.