Mutual trust and partnership with parents key to the success of routine immunization
Representatives of UNICEF and the Ministry of Health visited the Primary Healthcare Centre in Mojkovac
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MOJKOVAC, PODGORICA, 25 May 2022 – Representatives of UNICEF and the Ministry of Health visited the Primary Healthcare Centre in Mojkovac, which has been recording the highest vaccination rates in Montenegro, and met with the director, Dr. Miloje Zejak, and the head nurse for immunization, Valentina Vanja Damjanovic, to learn first-hand about how immunization is being carried out in that municipality.
The Deputy UNICEF Representative to Montenegro, Sabina Zunic, said that she was pleased to have the opportunity to hear more from the champions of immunization in Montenegro. “The commitment of the staff of the Primary Healthcare Centre in Mojkovac in protecting children from infectious diseases is impressive. It shows how important health workers are in promoting immunization and partnership with parents,” Zunic said.
At the national level, UNICEF supports the routine immunization programme for children, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and the European Union. One of the priorities of this cooperation is the vaccination of children against measles, mumps and rubella, which threaten the health of the youngest children.
The Director General of the Directorate for Healthcare, Pharmacology and Regulated Professions in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Sladjana Coric, said that the Ministry of Health has been cooperating with the Institute of Public Health of Montenegro and all primary healthcare centres in conducting numerous campaigns to ensure adequate protection against infectious diseases.
When it comes to the promotion of routine immunization, a partnership with the Ministry of Education is planned so that parents can get as much information as possible about the importance of immunization in protecting the health of every child.
Immunization rates in Mojkovac are up to four times higher than the national average. This is being achieved thanks to the continuous monitoring of children’s vaccination cards and continuing and proactive communication with parents. Healthcare services continue after the vaccination of children, whereby parents are given a phone number they can call in case the child has a reaction to the vaccine.
Teamwork in the Primary Healthcare Centre is crucial to the successful implementation of routine immunization, as is trust in the health workers who look after the health of children.
Montenegro’s MMR immunization campaign is part of a two-year health initiative implemented by the Ministry of Health with support from the EU and UNICEF. Its aim is to support the country in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic effectively, while, at the same time, ensuring that routine immunization happens so that an epidemic of vaccine-preventable diseases does not occur.
