The teachers and imams fighting for vaccines

In Batken oblast, Kyrgyzstan, teachers and imams have reached nearly 80,000 people with talks on the importance of immunization.

Nasiba Nachitova, a kindergarten teacher in Batken city, frequently speaks to parents about the importance of vaccination. However, she didn't always understand the crucial role that immunization plays in protecting children. “I used to hear that you needed to get vaccinated, but I had no idea that refusing vaccination could lead to terrible consequences and to horrible diseases,” she says.

Her outlook changed when she participated in seminars, organized by UNICEF and by the “Aizhan” public foundation, on immunization. Now Nasiba herself conducts such seminars for parents.

The parents go into the seminars knowing that vaccination is a social requirement. But by the end, they understand that it is a matter of children's safety.

“I always try to learn more about new vaccines so that my child is protected from all possible diseases,” says Shakir kyzy Aichurok, the mother to a kindergartner.

During the sessions, there is also time for parents to share their own stories. In one session, one mother, Gulburak Zhanybek, told the others how she suffered a severe case of measles in university because she was not vaccinated as a child. She still remembers the severe cough and suffocation that tormented her.

Gulburak’s experience as a child was the deciding factor for her to protect her child from vaccine-preventable diseases.

Training sessions organized in kindergartens in collaboration with doctors reached nearly 3,000 mums and dads who had questions and concerns about vaccination. Testing after the training showed a significant improvement in knowledge about the severity of preventable infections. 

The Imam’s personal example

Sometimes people refuse vaccines due to religious beliefs, thinking they are prohibited. Therefore, vaccination is supported not only by teachers but also by religious leaders (imams). After prayer at the mosque, Nuriddin Kalnazarov, a local imam, began educating the mosque congregants about the importance of vaccinations.

“We must take care of our health,” he said during the lecture. “Vaccines help us protect ourselves from diseases. I get vaccinated myself and consider it good practice.”

The imam completed training organized by UNICEF, where he learned about vaccines against hepatitis, tuberculosis, and other infections. Two years ago, at the age of 36, he received a scheduled vaccination himself, and he actively supports health initiatives, setting an example for his mosque parishioners.

Many men from the community, following his example, also have received vaccinations.

“Heath of the whole family is important. The imam was vaccinated, and we follow his example," parishioner Isakov Abdrashit says. "We were vaccinated at school as children, so we are all healthy and have lived as long as we have.”

In 2024, thanks to the involvement of 60 religious leaders across Batken oblast, more than 76,000 mosque parishioners took part in discussions about the importance of vaccination – bringing the issue to the forefront of communities.