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IMMUNIZATION
CAMPAIGN IN NIGER HOPES WITH UN HELP TO VACCINATE CLOSE TO 3 MILLION
CHILDREN: 08/01/08
(MaximsNews Network)
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UNITED
NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / - 08
January 2007 -- UN-backed push to immunize children in Niger
hopes to vaccinate approximately
2.9 million children during the weeks-long effort.
“The
overriding goal is to prevent measles deaths and disability, and to give each
child in Niger the best start in life,” UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) country
representative Akhil Iyer said. “This campaign is testimony to the commitment
of the Government and a remarkable example of successful partnership between
different players.”
The
drive is led by the West African country’s Ministry of Health, with financial
and technical support from UNICEF, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and a
coalition of other partners.
The
campaign is costing $2.3 million, with the international agencies contributing
the bulk of the funds. Through the generous support of the United States Centers
for Disease Control, the UN Foundation and Norway, UNICEF is the largest
contributor, having released more than $1.5 million to cover vaccine
procurement, syringes for safe injections and safety boxes, as well as
transportation, training and social mobilization.
Before
Niger began intensive measles-control activities with its first Measles
Initiative-supported campaign in 2004-05, measles was a major cause of childhood
death and disability here. According to UNICEF, the reported incidence of
measles has since decreased from 40,000 cases and 500 deaths in 2003 to 478
cases and 4 deaths in 2006.
This
year’s follow-up campaign is targeting more than 2.9 children between nine
months and five years and aims to give all children under five a second
opportunity for immunization. Some 683,000 babies are born every year, of whom
360,000 – or 53 per cent – are estimated to lack measles vaccine coverage.
In
addition to the measles shots, 2.6 million children aged 1-5 years will be given
a dose of de-worming medicine to combat anaemia and malnutrition.
Labels: United
Nations, U.N.,
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