National Vaccination Campaign Targeting 1.6 Million Children
DAMASCUS,(ST)_ Health Ministry yesterday launched a national vaccination campaign against measles and polio in the health centers and temporary residence that will continue until November 21st..
Minister of Health Dr. SaadNaev stressed , during his tour on Kudsia suburb health center and temporary accommodation centers that the campaign is targeting 1.6 million children in health centers and medical teams distributed all over the country ‘s provinces.
The minister pointed out that the campaign in temporary accommodation centers targeted children from one year old to under 15 year- s old with MMR vaccine for measles, rubella , mumps and vitamin A and children from the age of one day-to under five years with oral paralysis vaccine while at health centers, children from one day old -to- under five years are given oral polio vaccine , regardless of previous doses and children from year old to pre-schooling age are immunized by MMR vaccine and vitamin A .
The Minister of Health pointed out that ” the ministry imported vaccines from best international companies and offered it free for all children , at costs that exceed billions Syrian pounds , annually .
For her part, UNICEF ‘s Deputy Resident Representative in Damascus HamidaRamadanistressed that the organization seeks to support the efforts of the Ministry of Health and other partners to reach and immunize every Syrian child, especially under the current circumstances , where some families find it difficult to access medical services.
Dr. Tariq Abdul-Rahman of the regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Cairo noted that the good cooperation between the Ministry of Health and international organizations will contribute to the success of the campaign, but “the concern comes from the possibility of lack of access to all areas under the current difficult circumstances .”
Abdul-Rahman said that the importance of the campaign comes from the timing , as a result of current circumstances, Syria is experiencing a decline in the percentage of children immunized and therefore , efforts should be concerted to raise the percentage of immunized children again.
Last Sunday, the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and UNICEF launched a vaccination campaign in the country ‘s schools against measles, rubella , mumps , targeting 800 thousand children from sixth grade class to the ninth , which will last until the end of the first schooling semester.
In Homs, director of health care department Dr. Abdul MomenQashlaq said that the ” campaign is expected to include 180 thousand children under the age of five against polio and 130 thousand children against measles , rubella, mumps ,” pointing out that he coordinated with the Red Crescent branch in Homs to deliver the vaccine to unsafe areas , so as to ensure that all children are vaccinated .
Meantime, Aleppo Health Directorate Aleppo started yesterday the national vaccination campaign against measles and polio in the health and temporary accommodation centers that are expected to target about 734.749 children, according to director Dr. Waddah Hussein.
Simultaneously, Sweida Health Directorate launched yesterday the national vaccination campaign against measles and polio , targeting 44 thousand children under the age of five in addition to 6 thousand children under the age of five years in temporary accommodation centers.
T. Fateh