Bangladesh is set to immunise around 22 million children aged 0-59 months on Saturday in order to bolster its polio-free status by providing two drops of polio vaccines during the 21st National Immunisation Days (NIDs).
On the eve of the NIDs, World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative to Bangladesh Dr Thushara Fernando issued a statement on Thursday urging the political parties to ensure that work of thousands of health workers and community volunteers would not be hindered.
Dr Thushara said: “Bangladesh is a model in South East Asia Region for polio eradication due to the strong commitments from all successive governments since 1995. In each year, political leadership of successive governments has spearheaded the national EPI programme to successfully conduct NIDs.”
“Together with UNICEF I urge all political parties to ensure that work of thousands of health workers and community volunteers would not be hindered. The support of all stakeholders is even more important now to ensure children of future generations will live in a Polio Free environment,” Thushara added.
“About 95% of eligible children are usually reached during NIDs, an excellent result indeed. However, we need to do more to ensure that no child is left behind, particularly those living in hard-to-reach and deprived communities,” says UNICEF Bangladesh Representative Pascal Villeneuve.”
“I also urge all political parties to make this day a success by keeping the upcoming NID out of the purview of any political programme for the greater interest of the children of Bangladesh. Full access to children must be protected and preserved so that the heroes of the polio campaigns – the volunteers, the vaccinators and the social mobilisers – can continue to make history by keeping the scourge of polio away from our children.”
Following the launch of the Global Polio Eradication programme in 1988, the intensification of polio vaccination activities, notably through the organisation of NIDs, led to the gradual decline of polio cases.
Bangladesh has successfully maintained polio free status since 2006, after the last case of importation related poliomyelitis. This dramatic achievement was the result of sustained bi-partisan political commitment to child immunisation in general and to polio eradication in particular, and strong partnership between government, civil society and development partners.
The National Immunisation Day (NID) marks the end point of several months of careful planning by the National EPI programme under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Thousands of field managers, frontline health workers and volunteers have joined forces to ensure that no child misses out. Before 1986, an estimated 11,500 children in Bangladesh developed polio every year.
This year, the organisers stated that the anti-polio campaign would be hindered because of the ongoing political violence and nationwide blockade programmes in the country.