The launch of the vaccination promotion campaign „Childhood, the most beautiful gift”

Bucharest, January 15, 2019 – The Ministry of Health together with UNICEF in Romania have launched today the vaccination promotion campaign – “Childhood, the most beautiful gift”, aiming at informing parents and the general public about the importance and the benefits of vaccinations that save annually millions of lives worldwide.

“Continuing the information and immunization catch-up campaign is imperative, against the backdrop of having lost 59 lives- most of them children- to measles. The purpose of these campaigns is to inform the parents about the benefits of vaccination so as to help them choose to protect their children while knowing all the facts, and the main objective is to catch-up the vaccination according to the National Vaccination Schedule. We rely on the media support for this campaign to become even more visible”, said Sorina Pintea, the Minister of the Health.

A happy childhood, where children can enjoy exploring their environment, can play, and enjoy freedom and safety at the same time, is the most beautiful gift parents can offer their children. And vaccines help parents provide this gift. 

“Childhood, the most beautiful gift” is an integrated campaign, which will feature TV advertising, print, online and outdoor media coverage.

Also, the UNICEF in Romania National Ambassadors, as well as other opinion leaders will support this project.

“Vaccines are safe and efficient. Parents and caregivers need to be informed about the benefits of vaccines and the places where they can vaccinate their children free of chargein order to be able to offer them the most beautiful gift, childhood. In Romania, the national communication campaigns must be strengthened, and the vaccination coverage rate has to be improved. The lack of vaccination leads to resurgence of vaccine preventable diseases”, said Pieter Bult, the UNICEF in Romania representative.

The campaign is supported by the WHO, Dr. Miljana Grbc, WHO representative to Romania also participated in the event. Together with Alexandru Rafila, The President of the Romanian Microbiology Society, Gindrovel Dumitra, the coordinator of the Vaccinology group for the National Society of General Practitioners, representatives of the GPs took part in the campaign launching conference.

“We are happy to be here today together with the Ministry of Health and UNICEF in order to help the authorities and the health care professionals to make sure each person has fair access to vaccines and that parents fully understand the importance of vaccines provided at the right time for their children, according to the national immunization schedule. These efforts must also address the most vulnerable and marginalized communities.” said dr. Miljana Grbic, head of the WHO Country Office in Romania.

Childhood, the most beautiful gift furthers the awareness and immunization catch-up door-to-door campaigns carried out last year by the Ministry of Health in partnership with  the World Health Organization and UNICEF in several vulnerable communities in the Mehedinti and Bacau counties. Representatives of Public Health Departments around the country took part in these campaigns and replicated this model in other counties. 

During the information sessions, a team of specialists, made of a GP, an epidemiologist, and a psychologist, gave parents information about the benefits of vaccinations and the risks of skipping vaccinations and answered parents’ questions. As a consequence, the vaccination coverage rate against MMR grew up to more than 90% in these communities.

The specialists from the Public Health Departments received a series of useful materials as the vaccination promotion campaign unfolded: a video, a support presentation for the teams of specialists to help them inform the population about the benefits of vaccination.

“I have trusted the doctor to do the best for my child”, said Didina Maldan, one of the parents in Buhusi who vaccinated all her seven children during the campaign carried out by the Ministry of Health in partnership  with UNICEF. “I was happy when he told me he can also vaccinate my youngest”, a boy with a disability.

Information door-to-door and vaccination campaigns  will continue in 2019 as well, given the optimal results obtained after the previous year’s campaigns which contributed to a significant decrease in the number of measles infections and thus protecting children’s lives and sending signals further on at national level on the importance of vaccination.