Immunisation activity: Anti-measles drive sputters as donor pledges fall short
Official fears possible outbreak of virus after monsoon rains.
So far, only the Sindh government of has allocated $4 million for the campaign out of its own treasury. PHOTO: REUTERS / FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The government’s initiative to launch a programme aiming to control the outbreak of measles in flood-prone areas of Pakistan received a severe blow after international donors failed to pledge donations at a recent meeting held at the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC).
According to official sources, the amount required by the government to successfully launch its Supplementary Immunisation Activity (SIA) adds up to $65 million. The campaign will cover around 62 million children between the ages 9 months to 10 years. Out of the total the bulk, $35 million is being paid by Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), while the federal government has to generate the remaining $30 million.
So far, only the Sindh government of has allocated $4 million for the campaign out of its own treasury. The other provincial and the federal governments, however, are still in the process of mobilising their resources for SIA.
The federal government, in order to generate the remaining amount, requested international donors to contribute and a high-level meeting was held at the IPC in this regard. A number of international donors were invited but except for the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), who assured to provide technical assistance, none of the other donors contributed to the campaign.
The mission chalked out a plan-of-action keeping in mind the upcoming monsoon season which might potentially cause another flood resulting in the displacement of many people.
“The international donors’ response is embarrassing for Pakistan but the government is helpless owing to persisting financial constraints. Generating such a hefty amount in such a short span is impossible. If, in case the government fails, there is a possibility of another massive measles outbreak in the country, which will affect over 62 million children,” said an official.
According to the documents available with The Express Tribune, SIA will be carried out in two phases. The first will be carried out during June, 2013, and will aim to immunise 41.38 million children across Sindh, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, eight southern districts of Punjab, Lahore and Faisalabad. The total cost of the phase is estimated to be around $43.43 million.
Phase two, which will be conducted by the fourth quarter of the current year, will aim to immunise children in the remaining parts of the country. The estimated cost of the second phase is $22.16 million.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2013.
The government’s initiative to launch a programme aiming to control the outbreak of measles in flood-prone areas of Pakistan received a severe blow after international donors failed to pledge donations at a recent meeting held at the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC).
According to official sources, the amount required by the government to successfully launch its Supplementary Immunisation Activity (SIA) adds up to $65 million. The campaign will cover around 62 million children between the ages 9 months to 10 years. Out of the total the bulk, $35 million is being paid by Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), while the federal government has to generate the remaining $30 million.
So far, only the Sindh government of has allocated $4 million for the campaign out of its own treasury. The other provincial and the federal governments, however, are still in the process of mobilising their resources for SIA.
The federal government, in order to generate the remaining amount, requested international donors to contribute and a high-level meeting was held at the IPC in this regard. A number of international donors were invited but except for the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), who assured to provide technical assistance, none of the other donors contributed to the campaign.
The mission chalked out a plan-of-action keeping in mind the upcoming monsoon season which might potentially cause another flood resulting in the displacement of many people.
“The international donors’ response is embarrassing for Pakistan but the government is helpless owing to persisting financial constraints. Generating such a hefty amount in such a short span is impossible. If, in case the government fails, there is a possibility of another massive measles outbreak in the country, which will affect over 62 million children,” said an official.
According to the documents available with The Express Tribune, SIA will be carried out in two phases. The first will be carried out during June, 2013, and will aim to immunise 41.38 million children across Sindh, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, eight southern districts of Punjab, Lahore and Faisalabad. The total cost of the phase is estimated to be around $43.43 million.
Phase two, which will be conducted by the fourth quarter of the current year, will aim to immunise children in the remaining parts of the country. The estimated cost of the second phase is $22.16 million.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2013.