UNICEF: $6.9 million Japanese donation for Afghanistan vaccinations
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has announced that it will provide $6.9 million to support vaccination services in Afghanistan.
This agency stated on Tuesday, May 14, that these funds will be provided in cooperation with international organizations (JAICA) to meet the immediate needs and rights of children and women in Afghanistan.
According to the UNICEF announcement, with the new financial aid from Japan, 4.1 million children and women will be vaccinated against various diseases, including measles, tuberculosis, polio, yellow fever, and tetanus, through the implementation of routine vaccination services.
The agency has emphasized that the risk of contracting deadly and preventable diseases in Afghanistan is still high, noting that “this financial aid will facilitate the provision of vaccines and vaccination injection equipment.”
The UNICEF statement mentioned that 4.7 million children will be vaccinated against polio through a national vaccination campaign.
Additionally, Takeyoshi Kuramaya, the Japanese Ambassador to Afghanistan, has stated, “The re-emergence of diseases reminds us of the importance of vaccination. We are committed to supporting the regular vaccination program for women and children in Afghanistan and will continue to support expanding access to vaccination campaigns.”
Meanwhile, Tajudeen Oyewale, the UNICEF representative in Afghanistan, has described vaccines as a reliable and cost-effective method to protect children from communicable and deadly diseases, adding that “some diseases, including polio, can devastate children’s lives, but these diseases are preventable.”
He welcomed Japan’s assistance in strengthening the Afghan healthcare system and further protecting women and children against preventable diseases.
This comes at a time when Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only countries in the world where the disease of polio, or childhood paralysis, remains.
According to World Health Organization statistics, as of the beginning of this year, two positive cases of polio or childhood paralysis have been recorded in Afghanistan.
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