2.8 million children targeted in polio vaccination campaign starting today

Damascus, SANA – Health Ministry launched Sunday a new polio vaccination campaign for all children under five across the country.

The campaign will be carried out in cooperation with the authorities concerned, civil associations, World Health Organization (WHO),the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The Ministry had already distributed 3,300,000 doses of vaccines for the campaign, in which 4399 health workers, 1133 qualified volunteers, 965 vehicles and 3788 mobile teams have been employed with the aim of reaching 2.8 million children nationwide.

The campaign targets 298,000 children in Damascus, 327,000 in Damascus Countryside, 308,000 in Hama, 16,000 in Deir Ezzor, 200,000 in Homs, 52,000 in Sweida, 52,000 in Quneitra, 164,000 in Lattakia, 126,000 in Tartous, 230,000 in Hasaka, 145,000 in Daraa and 300,000 children in Aleppo.

In a statement to SANA, Health Minister Nizar Yazigi asserted that the Ministry has taken all required procedures to ensure the success of the campaign, which will be carried out at the health centers and makeshift residential centers and through mobile teams with the aim to reach all targeted children regardless of their previous vaccines.

The vaccines, Yazigi added, are given free of charge and are of high quality matching the World Health Organization (WHO) standards.

Ministry of Health conducted 17 vaccination campaigns since 2013 with the aim of having Syria freed of polio, where no new cases of polio have been detected in Syria since January 21 of 2014.

Reem/H. said

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