With the support of the European Union, UNICEF ensures access to vaccines to every child in Lebanon
“I stand in the way of every mother or father who refuses to provide his/her children with their routine vaccinations”- Suzanne, mother of 6-month-old Kinda
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Thousands of children in Lebanon are at risk of missing out on life-saving vaccines. Multiple emergencies in the country have led to routine immunizations backsliding. This requires urgent action to reach children and adolescents that are mostly at risk of life-threatening diseases and outbreaks.
Immunization protects future generations. Nine-year-old Charbel and eight-year-old Rita came to the primary healthcare center to get their routine immunization vaccines with their father Jean. “I never miss my children’s immunization schedule. I would never neglect my children’s health”, said Jean. “It protects them from any contagious disease and protects their environment especially after the spread of viruses in the past few years”, he added. Vaccination is the only way to create immunity for children and it is the most cost-effective and safest intervention for preventable diseases.
Suzanne, mother of 6-month-old Kinda is keen to provide her daughter with vaccines to protect her from all dangerous and contagious diseases and to allow her to grow in good health. “Parents who do not provide his/her children with their routine vaccinations should be aware of the dangers they are exposing their children to, declared Suzanne. With time, this would negatively affect their health especially if they caught any contagious disease”.
Routine vaccines are safe and effective. They have saved millions of lives and protected children from devastating vaccine preventable diseases throughout the world. Sherine, mother of three-year-old Mohammad, visited the Lebanese University Primary Health Care Center (PHCC) in Hadath, having full trust in the medical team. “From the day my child was born, I never stopped visiting this PHCC”, said Sherine. “Immunizing my child is the only way to ensure his health in the future. It protects him and his surroundings from any contagious diseases” she added.
With the support of the European Union, UNICEF and the Ministry of Public Health are providing all essential routine vaccines to more than 800 primary healthcare facilities aiming to reach all children in Lebanon. Vaccines are available free of charge when administrated by a registered nurse. They have been rigorously tested and proven to prevent serious illness, saving millions of children’s lives every year.
UNICEF2023/Fouad-Choufany/Lebanon
UNICEF2023/Fouad-Choufany/Lebanon
“From the day my child was born, I never stopped visiting this PHCC. Immunizing my child is the only way to ensure his health in the future. It protects him and his surroundings from any contagious diseases” – Sherine, mother of 3 years old Mohammad
UNICEF’s mission is to reach every single child with life-saving vaccines. UNICEF is working tirelessly to make sure that every child has the access to the health care he/she needs to build back immunity in the country. With the support of the European Union, UNICEF procured routine vaccines for more than 500,000 children under five years of age to protect them against dangerous diseases such as polio and measles. While significant efforts are being made, many children in Lebanon are still missing life-saving routine vaccines available free of cost due to issues related to access to health facilities, low priority or awareness gap on timely and complete vaccination of their child. The funding provided by the European Union is key to support UNICEF’s immunization programmes to ensure a healthy future for every child.
Because every child deserves to be vaccinated, let us all stand up for routine immunization like Suzanne, Jean, Sherine and other parents and caretakers. Together, let us shed light on the importance of vaccination for the health of every child and head to the nearest primary healthcare center.
