Rohingya children in Bhashan Char will be vaccinated through a routine childhood immunization program in the last week of April.
UNICEF is providing technical and financial assistance to the government of Bangladesh in this regard.
Also Read - 1,500 more Rohingyas reach Bhasan Char
“We have no time to waste. Lost ground means lost lives. Rohingya refugee children on the island need immunizations or the consequences will be deadly,” according to George Laryea-Adjei, UNICEF regional director for South Asia.
“The routine childhood vaccination program follows the Bangladesh government’s national Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI). This includes vaccinations against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis-B, hib, polio, pneumonia, tuberculosis, measles and rubella,” said Dr Md Shamsul Haque, line director MNCAH.
There are over 10,000 children on the island and UNICEF, UNHCR and WHO along with other partners are working to support the government in providing health and other services to these children.
Also Read - Speakers: Rohingya children need quality education
“No matter how challenging or remote the setting is, we must do everything possible to reach the most at-risk and marginalized boys and girls, regardless of who they are or where they are,” said the UNICEF regional director.
Vaccines remain one of the greatest advances in public health, giving children a fair chance to survive, thrive, walk, play and learn. The immunization program comes just ahead of the worldwide commemoration of World Immunization Week, observed every year in the last week of April, which will aim to draw the world’s attention to the millions of children still missing out on life-saving vaccines.