4.6 million doses of polio vaccine arrived to Dushanbe early Sunday morning, May 23.
According to UNICEF’s Office in Tajikistan, these vaccines will be used during the national polio immunization campaign planned for May-July 2021 to stop circulation of poliovirus. In the course of the campaign almost 1.4 million children under the age of six will be targeted to receive oral polio vaccine to strengthen the protection against poliomyelitis.
The shipment was received by the head of the Republican Center for Immunoprofilactic, Mr. Faizali Saidzoda, and the staff of the UNICEF and World Health Organization in Tajikistan.
The vaccination campaign is led by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population of Tajikistan (MoHSPP), and supported by WHO and UNICEF, within the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
“UNICEF is working with partners to support local authorities to conduct important rounds of polio campaign to strengthen the immunity of the children against the poliovirus. The supplemental campaign will be accompanied by a social mobilization campaign to encourage communities to get their children vaccinated.” said Zainab Al-Azzawi, Deputy Representative for UNICEF Tajikistan.
After thorough investigation of poliomyelitis cases in the Republic of Tajikistan, the Government and health partners have been working hand-in-hand to prepare for and conduct supplemental immunization of children to prevent transmission of the virus. According to the decree of the Government of Tajikistan, two rounds of polio vaccination campaign have been planned on May 31 to June 5 and June 28 – July 3 respectively.
“There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented through vaccination. Polio vaccine, given multiple times, can protect a child for life. Oral polio vaccine is safe and effective, its use enabled eradication of polio in most of the countries around the world. The use of oral polio vaccine in Tajikistan is crucial for preventing the virus transmission and protecting children from this crippling disease. WHO appreciates all the efforts made by the Tajik Government and health partners in preparation of the campaign and vaccine procurement and urges parents to vaccinate their children” said Dr. Victor Olsavszky, WHO Representative in Tajikistan.
The polio campaign is supported by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), a consortium dedicated to the eradication of polio. The GPEI is spearheaded by national governments, the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and UNICEF and supported by key partners including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance.
