Multi-vaccination campaign reaches shelters for refugees and migrants from Venezuela in Boa Vista

Boa Vista, August 22, 2022 – UNICEF, in partnership with the Municipal Health Department of Boa Vista, the Federal Subcommittee on Reception and Interiorization, the Humanitarian Logistics Task Force of Operation Welcome and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra), integrated actions to strengthen vaccination coverage among the refugee and migrant population in the capital of Roraima, in particular children and adolescents. The action, which takes place until September 12 in eight shelters of Operation Welcome, in Boa Vista, will reinforce the work carried out by the municipality. The multi-vaccination campaign coordinated by the Department of Health involves a calendar with 14 routine immunizations, such as vaccines against measles, rubella and diphtheria.

“The drop in vaccination coverage is already a reality in Brazil, and also in the state of Roraima. This decline puts millions of children, adolescents and their families at risk. To protect them from dangerous and preventable diseases, it is essential to ensure that they have access to routine vaccinations”, says Ana Spiassi, UNICEF Health and Nutrition consultant in Roraima.

Recent data from UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) show that the Covid-19 pandemic fuels the biggest continuous setback in vaccinations in three decades.

“Vaccination is one of the most effective and efficient ways to provide access to health care for refugees and migrants arriving in Brazil. Therefore, the work for vaccination must occur as soon as these people enter the country, as it is already done, as well as an active work to guarantee vaccination coverage also in shelters, benefiting the health of the whole society”, says Colonel Alexandre Henrique Monteiro Ramos, ahead of the Health Coordination of the Welcome.

Among the professionals involved in the campaign are nurses and health and nutrition monitors, who work in the shelters, mobilizing the community and organizing queues during vaccination. The Humanitarian Logistics Task Force of Operation Welcome coordinates all the logistics related to the action, being responsible in the Municipal Immunization Coordination for the storage, transport and distribution of immunizers.

“When a community is vaccinated, everyone is protected against the return of diseases which we do not want to threaten families in the municipality again. Our campaign makes every effort to reach the most vulnerable audiences and those with difficulties in getting vaccinated, including, among others, the refugee and migrant population”, says Cláudio Galvão, Secretary of Health of Boa Vista.

In addition to the shelters, another round of vaccination is underway in 16 spontaneous occupations of refugees and migrants from Venezuela in Boa Vista, involving the Municipal Health Department, UNICEF, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF). The action promotes a second round of applications of vaccines against coronavirus, yellow fever and influenza, and MMR.

UNICEF's immunization work receives funding from the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator program on vaccines, treatments and diagnostics and the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM).

UNICEF and support for vaccination coverage
Since 2019, UNICEF has provided health and nutrition teams in Boa Vista, working on a fixed or movable basis to serve the population in the shelters of Operation Welcome and in spontaneous occupations in the city. The objective is to ensure, among other activities, the rapid identification and referral of suspected cases of covid-19 and the monitoring of vaccination coverage among the migrant and refugee population of Venezuela. In 2021, 20,564 interviews were conducted with 3,102 referrals for medical evaluation as a strategy to ensure rapid control of COVID-19 outbreaks in shelters.

The Fund also supports five Basic Health Units (UBS) in Boa Vista, with 15 professionals who work to ensure care for the Brazilian and Venezuelan community.