MaximsNewsNetwork: 05 September 2009 - UNICEF: Building on the success of the six-month-long Child Health Days initiative that began late last year, UNICEF and the WHO kick off the second round of a campaign to reach every Somali community with a life-saving package of essential services for children and women.
Children in Somalia are receiving essential life-saving, high-impact health services during the Child Health Days Campaign.
Building on the first round launched last December, UNICEF and WHO, with local authorities, communities and NGOs, kicked off the second round of this large-scale nation-wide initiative to reach every community in Somalia. More than 50 local and international partner organizations across the country are participating in this massive undertaking.
This intervention is crucial for Somali communities that are severely affected by conflict, drought, poverty, and lack of basic social services. Somalia has one of the lowest routine immunization rates in the world, with one in every seven children dying before the age of five, and one in five children acutely malnourished.
During the first round of Child Health Days, one million children under five in Somalia were immunized against polio, measles, diphtheria, whooping cough, and tetanus, and received vitamin A and de-worming tablets. 800,000 women of child-bearing age were immunized against Tetanus.
SOUNDBITE (Somali) Ayan Ibrahim, Mother of six:
We only receive vaccination at the health clinic but here we also receive oral re-hydration salt, tablets to clean water, and things like that.
Here in Somaliland, northwest Somalia, more than 5,000 trained health workers are implementing of the campaign.
At the site, childrens nutritional status is evaluated and acutely malnourished children are referred to the nearest feeding program such as this one, supported by UNICEF. These mothers and children were referred by the Child Health Days teams to the outpatient therapeutic program which treats severely malnourished children.
SOUNDBITE (Somali), Roda Mohamed, mother:
I was told that there will be vaccination for children, so I went, and the vaccination team told me that my children are weak. I was told to bring them to this clinic for treatment.
These children will receive medical and nutritional services for about eight weeks until they are cured. Each month, UNICEF supports the treatment of more than 15,000 severely malnourished children in Somalia through 250 feeding program sites.
The strong commitment of local authorities and communities is making the Child Health Days a reality, despite insecurity and poor infrastructure.
SOUNDBITE (English), Mohamed Jama, UNICEF Somalia Health Officer:
The participation of communities in the implementation of child health days indicates that the communities are willing to receive the services. This is an indicator that we can reach the coverage we need to reach so that our children and mothers will benefit from the service.
UNICEF and WHO are working together to ensure that this package of life-saving services is brought to communities every six months, to promote the survival and better health of children and women in Somalia.
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