India, March 1 -- The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday launched a citywide HPV vaccination drive aimed at preventing cervical cancer, targeting nearly 1,30,000 adolescent girls aged 14 to 15 years.

Over 24,900 girls from municipal schools will be covered in the first phase, followed by students from aided and private schools. Registration will open next week on the U-WIN portal.

Vaccinations will be administered across BMC's network of 284 institutions, including 236 health centres, 27 maternity homes, 16 general hospitals and five medical colleges. The programme is voluntary but requires parental consent.

The civic body has received 20,160 doses of the HPV vaccine 'Gardasil-4'. Each beneficiary will receive a singl...