Over 200,000 girls between 11 and 14 years of age, who are eligible to get inoculated with human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine during the nationwide campaign, did not show up for inoculation.

Officials say that only around 1.45 million girls of the said age group have been inoculated so far with the vaccine in the campaign launched in February while the target number was 1.68 million.

The figure of the eligible population was not only a projection prepared for the campaign, but was based on a real figure calculated by taking the exact number of girls enrolled in schools, according to officials.

They concede that coverage of the vaccination is low in districts of the Madhesh province and in big cities including in the Kathmandu Valley but they are unaware of the identities or whereabouts of the missing girls.

“Vaccination campaigns have been completed in all places except parts of upper Dolpa area,” said Dr Abhiyan Gautam, chief of the Immunisation Section at the Family Welfare Division under the Department of Health Services. “Only a few hundred girls remain to be vaccinated.”

Human papillomavirus is a viral infection that spreads through skin-to-skin contact and is a leading cause of cervical cancer—the second-most common cancer in the developing world. Cervical cancer is a major cause of death among Nepali women, with hundreds diagnosed every year.

Though the exact number of patients suffering from cervical cancer in Nepal is not known, it is estimated that every day, at least four women die of cervical cancer in the country.

BP Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital in Bharatpur said that more than 700 women suffering from cervical cancer seek treatment at the hospital every year.

Experts say early treatment can prevent up to 80 percent of cervical cancer cases.

The Health Ministry launched a nationwide HPV vaccination drive on February 4, targeting girls between 11 and 14. The campaign, which continued until February 18, aimed to jab a total of 1,688,768 girls in the age group with a single dose of the vaccine.

The campaign was delayed in four mountain districts including Manang, Mustang, Humla and Dolpa due to severe winter and road blockages caused by heavy snowfall. Health Offices of Manang and Mustang launched the drive in the first week of March.

As many as 18,900 schools around the country were designated as vaccination centres. Additionally, the vaccine doses were administered from 8,200 health facilities. Over 27,000 health workers and more than 54,000 female community health volunteers (FCHVs) were deployed for the campaign.

The Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunisation (GAVI) has supplied 1,770,400 vaccine doses for the campaign. Officials say the alliance has also provided funds to cover the campaign’s operational costs.

The government has decided to include the HPV vaccine in the routine immunisation list following the completion of the nationwide drive.

The World Health organisation says HPV vaccination is recommended as part of a coordinated strategy to prevent cervical cancer and other diseases caused by the virus.