Baghdad, November 17, 2015 – 1 week after undertaking a nationwide cholera vaccination campaign, the governorates of Iraq have begun a 5-day, campaign to vaccinate 5.8 million children against polio. Even with the heavy rains that swept Erbil this week, the parents of 15-day-old twins Renma and Awara made sure they received the oral polio vaccine to protect them from the lifelong disability caused by poliovirus.
In May 2015, Iraq was removed from the list of polio-infected countries, a landmark achievement made through the continued support of WHO and UNICEF to the central government and Kurdistan regional ministries of health. Although Iraq has not reported a polio case since April 2014, it remains on the list of countries vulnerable to importation due to the difficulties in access to vaccination for around 20 per cent of its population.
The current campaign – the fifth and final of 2015 – will be supported by more than 28 000 staff mobilized by the government. This includes vaccinators, supervisors, managers and cold chain technicians.
"The progress and achievement in polio eradication efforts has raised the confidence of health teams. However, continuous improvement is needed through using monitoring and surveillance data given that Iraq remains vulnerable to new infections and possible outbreaks due to volatile security, access problems and population displacement” said Altaf Musani acting WHO Representative.
In order to identify unvaccinated children, those who receive the vaccination will have the nail of their left little finger marked with ink. Iraqi Red Crescent Society volunteers have also started independent monitoring of the campaign, which is done to assess the coverage and quality of the campaign, both during it and immediately after. Weak areas identified by monitors are immediately reported to local health care management for corrective actions, including reaching children with vaccine that may have been otherwise missed.
Due to heavy rains and flash floods in the country, the polio vaccination campaign could not be started in Baghdad’s Resafa and Wassit provinces. Whereas parts of Ninewa that face ongoing security challenges and areas of compromised access are expected to start the campaign in the coming weeks.
“The government and humanitarian community are steadfast in eliminating polio in Iraq,” said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF’s Representative in Iraq. “Only through continued vaccination and work with local communities will we succeed in ensuring that children, women and families are guarded from this deadly, yet preventable, disease.”
WHO and UNICEF Iraq have worked hand-in-hand with government partners in planning the campaign and will continue to do so during its implementation. WHO provides technical support in the training of the vaccination teams, covering the operational costs and supporting independent monitoring, while UNICEF supports communication and social mobilization activities and transportation of the vaccine.
Polio eradication is a national public health priority and is a programmatic emergency for public health globally. More than 10 million children have been saved from permanent disability caused by polio since the start of Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988.
Related link
Global Polio Eradication Initiative
Baghdad, November 17, 2015 – 1 week after undertaking a nationwide cholera vaccination campaign, the governorates of Iraq have begun a 5-day, campaign to vaccinate 5.8 million children against polio. Even with the heavy rains that swept Erbil this week, the parents of 15-day-old twins Renma and Awara made sure they received the oral polio vaccine to protect them from the lifelong disability caused by poliovirus.
In May 2015, Iraq was removed from the list of polio-infected countries, a landmark achievement made through the continued support of WHO and UNICEF to the central government and Kurdistan regional ministries of health. Although Iraq has not reported a polio case since April 2014, it remains on the list of countries vulnerable to importation due to the difficulties in access to vaccination for around 20 per cent of its population.
The current campaign – the fifth and final of 2015 – will be supported by more than 28 000 staff mobilized by the government. This includes vaccinators, supervisors, managers and cold chain technicians.
"The progress and achievement in polio eradication efforts has raised the confidence of health teams. However, continuous improvement is needed through using monitoring and surveillance data given that Iraq remains vulnerable to new infections and possible outbreaks due to volatile security, access problems and population displacement” said Altaf Musani acting WHO Representative.
In order to identify unvaccinated children, those who receive the vaccination will have the nail of their left little finger marked with ink. Iraqi Red Crescent Society volunteers have also started independent monitoring of the campaign, which is done to assess the coverage and quality of the campaign, both during it and immediately after. Weak areas identified by monitors are immediately reported to local health care management for corrective actions, including reaching children with vaccine that may have been otherwise missed.
Due to heavy rains and flash floods in the country, the polio vaccination campaign could not be started in Baghdad’s Resafa and Wassit provinces. Whereas parts of Ninewa that face ongoing security challenges and areas of compromised access are expected to start the campaign in the coming weeks.
“The government and humanitarian community are steadfast in eliminating polio in Iraq,” said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF’s Representative in Iraq. “Only through continued vaccination and work with local communities will we succeed in ensuring that children, women and families are guarded from this deadly, yet preventable, disease.”
WHO and UNICEF Iraq have worked hand-in-hand with government partners in planning the campaign and will continue to do so during its implementation. WHO provides technical support in the training of the vaccination teams, covering the operational costs and supporting independent monitoring, while UNICEF supports communication and social mobilization activities and transportation of the vaccine.
Polio eradication is a national public health priority and is a programmatic emergency for public health globally. More than 10 million children have been saved from permanent disability caused by polio since the start of Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988.
Related link
Global Polio Eradication Initiative
