The Challenging Journey of Vaccines for Pacific Children
Imagine having to sail rough seas and combat gusty winds in chilling conditions and be manhandled by at least a dozen different people before you arrive to your destination. This is the challenging journey of vials of immunization for the Pacific children. Supplied in cold chain, which ensures that the vaccines are maintained under cold temperatures from the manufacturer in Europe and traveling to distant Pacific local ports before reaching the child; immunization medication has approximately five weeks of vigorous traveling before arriving to its destination. But that is not the end of the journey, in most cases in the Pacific Islands there are still a few punt journeys and hand carrying before it reaches the children most in need of these vaccines. Immunization is one of the oldest public health interventions in the world. It’s a form of lifetime protection. Hence it’s given earlier in life to ensure greater survival for children. With various killer diseases like - measles, polio, tuberculosis, tetanus, whopping cough and meningitis to protect children from - immunization is vital for child survival. If immunization is not given to children at the correct time in their life, children could suffer life-long diseases and even be partially disabled. UNICEF Pacific, Chief of Health and Sanitation, Dr Eliab Some say’s to better protect the Pacific Children UNICEF Pacific, with partners have developed the Pacific Immunization Program to strengthen the Pacific’s immunization practices and to maintain the region polio free and work towards making it measles free. UNICEF Pacific has developed a long term relationship with vaccine manufacturers, which involves planning in advance of three years for vaccines and budgetary requirements. “Under the Vaccines Independence Initiative (VII), UNICEF Pacific pays the manufacturer for these vaccines in advance for production for Pacific Island Countries (PIC) requirements and upon receiving these vaccines the respective governments of PIC pay UNICEF Pacific back,” says Dr. Some. “We have to help PIC with this as vaccines are very costly and in most times governments of smaller PIC cannot make payments for vaccines needed over the next three years,” he adds. Accurate planning is vital to ensure that the right amount of vaccines are ordered and delivered in time for administration to the children. “Planning, especially micro planning at hospital and health centres, to ascertain the number of children who need to be vaccinated is critical,” says Dr. Some.
Assistance from partners like Sun Rice is extremely valuable to UNICEF Pacific and the Pacific Children in their battle for getting timely vaccination. Sun Rice is assisting UNICEF Pacific in ensuring that cold chain needed for vaccines are maintained right from the manufacturer to the child says Dr. Some. “Sun Rice’s financial assistance to us for purchasing cold chain equipment to monitor and record temperatures of vaccine storage is highly appreciated as it will ensure that children are receiving effective vaccines,” adds Dr. Some. Sun Rice is also contributing financially to buy vaccines for Pacific Children. This resource will go a long way in helping Pacific children in some of the most remote areas of the Pacific. Sun Rice’s assistance will help UNICEF Pacific provide continuous support to around 60,000 children in the Pacific region who get immunized annually. Thank you Sun Rice, from UNICEF Pacific and all the Pacific children, we look forward to your continued support!
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