Govt initiates vaccination awareness drive
World Immunisation Week is being observed countrywide from Monday to raise awareness about the importance of vaccination in protecting against diseases.
This year’s theme ‘The Big Catch-up’ urges greater engagement around immunisation globally to promote the role of vaccines in improving the health and well-being of everyone, everywhere.
A spokesman for the Ministry of National Health Services and Coordination has stated that in collaboration with provincial Expanded Programmes of Immunisation and other stakeholders, the Federal Directorate of Immunisation launched a week-long vaccination campaign in late April to raise awareness about the importance of vaccination in preventing infectious diseases.
In his message marking the start of World Immunisation Week, Federal Minister of Health, Abdul Qadir Patel urged parents to vaccinate their children against 12 deadly diseases before the age of two. The ultimate goal of the Week is to protect more children from vaccine-preventable diseases and raise awareness about the value of vaccines, he added.
The government of Pakistan is committed to ensuring safe and effective vaccines are available and delivered to every child, including those in vulnerable and remote communities, he further said.
The minister expressed gratitude to frontline health workers and EPI teams for their tireless efforts in achieving this goal.
He said that the government is dedicated to ensuring that vaccination registration and availability reach 100 percent to guarantee the success of the immunisation initiative. Frontline workers play an essential role in facilitating vaccination in remote and disadvantaged areas, and the government is undertaking all necessary measures to keep the public safe from diseases and epidemics, he added.
Patel emphasised the importance of vaccination in preserving public health and urged parents to vaccinate their children against fatal diseases to safeguard their health in the future. The threat of polio still poses a danger to many children, making it imperative to provide access to polio vaccines during World Immunisation Week, he added.
In his message, Federal Secretary of Health Dr Muhammad Fakhr-e-Alam stated that the ultimate goal of World Immunisation Week is to protect more children from vaccine-preventable diseases, enabling them to live healthier and happier lives.
Representing the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination, he urged all stakeholders to fulfil their responsibilities towards achieving the ultimate goal of universal immunisation coverage (100 percent fully immunised children). This includes religious leaders, academia, doctors, media personnel, civil society organisations, parliamentarians, immunisation partners, donor organisations, parents, and frontline health workers, he added.
"World Immunisation Week is an opportunity to remind families and communities about the effectiveness of vaccines and to encourage people to take action to ensure that more children, as well as people in other age groups as we are witnessing right now with Covid-19 vaccination, are immunised against deadly and debilitating diseases,” said Federal Directorate of Immunisation Director General Dr Muhammad Ahmad Kazi to mark the beginning of the week.
“We know that a significant number of unimmunised children come from urban slums, hard to reach and security compromised areas. These children are in dire need of basic services such as primary health care, education, clean drinking water and sanitation. We now have to focus our resources to find novel means to trace these unvaccinated zero-dose children,” he added.
“Polio still threatens the futures of too many children today. This World Immunisation Week let us protect all children with polio vaccines, especially those who have never been vaccinated. Because until we end polio for good, polio anywhere puts everyone at risk.” said National Emergency Operations Centere Coordinator Dr Shahzad Baig. “We’re striving to make sure kids in even the most marginalised areas can access polio vaccines, other essential care, and a healthier future."
Routine childhood immunisation is a set of inoculations, given from birth to the age of 15 months. Completing the schedule protects children from 12 diseases that are preventable through vaccines, such as tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, haemophilus influenza type B, hepatitis B, diarrhoea, pneumonia, typhoid, measles and rubella.
The entire course is provided for free by the government’s EPI with support from global and technical partners, like Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, WHO and UNICEF.
“Vaccines bring us closer to community cohesion and compassion. With equal access to lifesaving vaccines, children can attend school, grow into healthy adults, parents can make their livelihood, and communities can thrive into a prosperous healthier society,” said WHO Representative in Pakistan Dr Palitha Mahipala.
"World Immunisation Week is a reminder that timely vaccination is the first line of defense against communicable diseases," said UNICEF Representative in Pakistan Abdullah Fadil.
Reiterating UNICEF’s resolve to vaccinate every child in Pakistan, he said, “Vaccines save millions of lives every year, especially those of children who are more susceptible due to low immunity. Vaccination is a safe and effective way to help them survive, thrive and reach their full potential in life."
DNA