UNICEF Vaccinates 1.3 Million Bangladashi Children

UNICEF Successfully Vaccinates 1.3 Million Bangladeshi Children Against Measles

New York, Oct 11 2005 3:00PM

The United Nations agency responsible for children vaccinated 1.3 million children between the ages of 9 and 10 in Bangladesh this September, reaching 98 per cent of their target, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said.

“Measles can be deadly to children and infants, especially when it is contracted during times of crisis, such as the recent earthquake in Pakistan,” UNICEF Bangladesh Representative Louis-Georges Arsenault said from the agency’s offices.

The national plan to immunize all Bangladeshi children against measles involved more than 15,000 volunteers, 1,600 health workers and the setting up of 4,500 health centres.

The second phase of the campaign, which starts in about six months, will focus on the remaining 33.5 million children in the south Asian country, and will require more than 300,000 volunteers to complete.

ENDS

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