With support of WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank, a national polio immunization campaign was launched this week in Yemen targeting over 5 million children. WHO Yemen
24 October 2017 – A 3-day National Polio Immunization Day (NID) campaign was launched this week in Yemen by local health authorities with support from the World Health Organization, UNICEF and World Bank, in partnership with Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners. The campaign aims to reach 5.3 million children under five across Yemen. The campaign coincides with World Polio Day (24 October), where the theme of “Unsung Heroes” looks to highlight the lengths vaccinators go to find every last child, a theme that is relevant to the ongoing protracted humanitarian crisis in Yemen and those who work hard to ensure equitable access to health services.
In addition to receiving polio vaccines, the nutritional status of children will be measured through Middle Upper Arm Circumference and those who are found malnourished will be referred to the therapeutic centers for treatment. An assessment of noncommunicable diseases at the households will also be carried out to understand the magnitude of chronic diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, epilepsy and asthma alongside the polio NIDs.
Around 40 000 vaccination volunteers will be mobilized to visit 3.4 million household in all 23 governorates in Yemen to vaccinate 5.3 million children with bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV). Children aged between 06 and 59 months will also be supplemented with vitamin A.
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