KARACHI: Preventive aspect of diseases stressed: Immunization drive begins today
KARACHI, Sept 22: Adequate public awareness, enhancing the grassroots level demand for protective vaccines against preventable diseases such as polio, maternal and neonatal tetanus and measles in the country was stressed at a media event.
Experts addressing the programme organized by the Sindh health department, prior to the formal launching of the second phase of supplementary immunization activity on maternal neonatal tetanus (MNT) from Sept 23 to Sept 28, said that Pakistan — reporting the third highest incidence rate of MNT across the globe — had to eliminate it by 2005.
For that purpose, and also to prevent 22,000 MNT induced deaths of local children, the exercise to immunize women in the child bearing age group of 15 to 45 years, particularly belonging to high risk areas, has been initiated by the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI-Sindh) in close collaboration with JICA, UNICEF and Save the Children.
Dr T.O. Kyaw-Myint, the country representative of UNICEF, underscored the need for improving routine immunization programmes against all vaccine preventable diseases in the country, coupled with capacity building and improved manpower, with particular reference to lady health workers (LHWs).
Being a qualified paediatrician, he expressed his particular concern about neonatal tetanus, mentioning that the vast majority of infants fail to survive once inflicted with it, making it necessary that all would be mothers, as well as newborns, are vaccinated against the disease.
He mentioned that a decline was observed in the immunization coverage rate of Pakistan, as against an 80 per cent coverage rate in 1990s, the same was registered to be 60 per cent in 2000.
Attributing the situation to varied factors, the UNICEF country representative acknowledged that these had been extended due consideration, on part of both the federal and provincial governments in the recent past, and some 22,000 LHWs had already been trained, while another 18,000 are in the process of being training.
With the availability of these LHWs, the situation could be further improved, as they are comparatively in a better position to gain access into homes and win the confidence of families.
“This would be particularly beneficial, as enjoying public confidence could efficiently dispel false notion(s) about vaccination, particularly anti-tetanus drugs,” he observed.
Dr Kyaw-Mint also mentioned that Pakistan was among the few countries from the third world which attempted to purchase vaccines on its own since 1994, reflective of the will to help protect children against a wide range of diseases.
He said Pakistan is again one of the first six countries to receive a grant from the Global Alliance for Vaccine Immunization (GAVI).
Begum Khadija Soomro, wife of the Sindh governor, expressed her satisfaction that Sindh managed to successfully implement supplementary immunization activities on MNT Phase One, launched last year in three rounds, and sought maximum involvement of all stake holders — including the media, health care providers and the community — in the effort.
Underscoring the importance of immunization, she said the government was committed to eliminating the disease, and needed the people to come forward and get the high risk groups in particular vaccinated.
Sindh Health Minister Ahsan Ahmed stressed the need to protect children and mothers from preventable deaths through ensuring routine immunization, as well as ensuring immunization during every round of supplementary immunization activities.
He said that while diphtheria cases had been significantly reduced, approximately 60,000 children still die from measles, and another 30,000 from tetanus.
Dr Shamsunisa Ansari, Project Director, EPI Sindh cited poor antenatal care, routine vaccination failure and clean birth failure as the basic causes leading to neonatal tetanus (NNT).—APP
