“I am immunized!”
By Nineta Popovic, UNICEF Bosnia and Herzegovina Esmeralda, a pregnant Roma mother of two boys, took all the instructions given by the mobile medical team seriously. “I have to bring them both to get the next vaccine in 2 months. I will do so; I have to. I was never immunised and doctor just explained me how dangerous could be if I get some of these diseases while I am pregnant. These vaccines should protect me and my unborn child as well”, she said later. A number of research studies conducted by local and international organisations document the level of exclusion of Roma families from regular social services. Without a doubt, the Roma population is the most excluded and vulnerable in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Around 40% of Roma children have no access to the basic health care. Esmeralda was one of the participants in UNICEF’s project developed to address this issue. Despite a significant increase in number of immunized Roma children after UNICEF- supported Better parenting project in Roma communities in BiH, an outbreak of measles that occurred this spring in Roma settlements around Sarajevo confirmed that the Roma population is most at risk. A significant number of children remain un-immunized, often because of a lack of birth registration and resulting lack of access to basic health services, as well as due to a lack of awareness. With financial support from the German National Committee for UNICEF, UNICEF BiH joined WHO, the Ministries of Health and Public Health Institutes to raise awareness of the importance of immunization during European Immunization Week in April. Children who had never been immunized or who had not received a complete series of vaccines were targeted in catch-up immunization activities. 150 mobile teams targeted 5,000 children in 50 excluded communities - 35 with a predominantly Roma population and 15 with returnee families.
“Our major challenge was to track all the Roma children, having in mind the mobility of their population and the fact most of them had never been registered. We were using different methods to track them; the most successful source was the Municipal registry at the Department for Minorities. We have also worked intensively with the media, announcing this action in advance and informing parents on the right of their children to immunization and its importance, trying to reach as many parents and their children as possible.”, stated Dr. Mitar Tesanovic, one of the National Immunization Co-ordinators. “It was unrealistic to expect those children and their parents to approach the medical institution in order to get immunised. Therefore we decided that the system should approach them; we know now the decision was a good one” he concluded. One of the mobile teams visited Modricki Lug, a small suburban settlement of Roma and displaced persons in Modrica Municipality. Experienced professionals managed to vaccinate almost half of the children identified as vulnerable in this municipality. Out of 230 registered Roma children, 90 were immunized during the two-day catch-up immunization organized jointly by the Primary Schools and Health Center in Modrica. “Eighty per cent of these children were never immunized before,” said the team leader, Dr. Slobodanka Simic, an epidemiologist from Modrica. “Through this campaign we protect the youngest children from birth to 1 year of age against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and poliomyelitis. The older children received vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella. In addition, we give them a vaccination schedule, with the appointment date for the next vaccine clearly marked.” The children had no doubts about expressing their courage getting shots. Moreover, some of them proudly wore their new T-shirts with the message, “I am immunized!”, showing their arms and saying “It wasn’t painful at all!” The children involved in the catch-up immunization action were aware that the vaccine will protect them from dangerous diseases. The challenge facing the Ministries of Health and Institutes of Public Health is to ensure that the system of immunization becomes more regularized – both among the general population, as well as among particularly excluded communities.
|
