ARTICLE - SUCCESS OF VACCINATION CAMPAIGN

SUCCESS OF THE NATIONAL VACCINATION CAMPAIGN
(Haiti Libre) -

The Office of the First Lady of the Republic, expressed satisfaction with the success of the national vaccination campaign against polio, measles and rubella. Dr. Jean Ronald Cadet, National Director of the vaccination program has confirmed to have exceeded the objectives set [2.8 million children], and that the ministry had vaccinated 3 million children.

The First Lady, Sophia Martelly congratulated the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) for having administered more than 1.2 million Vitamin A capsules to children aged 6 months to 6 years, and over 1.3 million albendazole tablets to those from 2 to 9 years.

The Minister of Public Health and Population, Dr. Florence Duperval Guillaume, believes that if his ministry continues on this way, the Martelly-Lamothe Administration will reach some of his goals in terms of child health, including: keeping the country free of polio, measles and rubella, strengthening routine programs, and reduce mortality associated to vitamin A deficiencies, and parasitic diseases, among children younger than 10 years.

The campaign, launched Saturday, April 21, 2012, under the theme "Protect our world, get vaccinated," aimed not only to give for free to children and pregnant women: vitamin A to combat malnutrition, drugs against parasites, vaccines for measles, rubella and polio, but also allows Haiti to obtain certification as a country free of measles and rubella. The costs of this campaign amounted to USD $8 million, of which two thirds was spent on the acquisition of vaccines, and the rest for various immunization operations.

At the launch of the campaign, Ms. Anne-Valérie T. Milfort, the representative of the First Lady, had stated that "Children's health is a key factor, this is a bet that we can and must win." After having learned that the MSPP had exceeded the expected results, the First Lady is convinced that we are on the right track to win this bet.