“This The campaign is a major milestone in efforts to vaccinate every child in the DPRK and protect them from common childhood diseases.,” speak UNICEFThe United Nations representative for the country – commonly known as North Korea – is Roland Kupka.
“This is The first step in restoring routine immunization and closing gaps that leave children vulnerable for preventable diseases,” he added.
Via Four million doses of essential vaccines — including Pentavalent, Measles-Rubella (MR), Tetanus-Diphtheria, BCG, Hepatitis B, and Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) — were shipped to the DPRK in July to kick-start this comprehensive immunization effort.
Of these, two million doses will be used in the current supplementary vaccination campaign, while the remainder will be sent to health centers nationwide to boost routine vaccination programs.
The Failure of COVID-19
The COVID-19 The pandemic has marked a major drop in vaccination rates in the DPRK.
While the national disease rate exceeded 96% before the pandemic, by mid-2021 it had dropped below 42%, putting countless children at risk of deadly diseases such as polio, diphtheria, measles, rubella and hepatitis.
Between In 2021 and 2023, UNICEF supported three previous supplementary immunization campaigns in the DPRK, reaching a total of nearly 1.3 million children. people who missed out on necessary vaccinations during the height of the pandemic.
The current vaccination campaign is expected to reach children and pregnant women in all 210 counties who have missed out on life-saving vaccines since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.
UNICEF’s advocacy efforts
More than 7,200 health workers have been trained to manage vaccination campaigns and handle any potential post-vaccination reactions.
In addition, UNICEF is providing new freezers, refrigerators, cold boxes and temperature labeling machines to ensure vaccines are effective even in the most remote areas.
The agency also supports the campaign by overseeing vaccine supply and administration and tracking vaccination coverage to ensure success.
“To maintain progress toward restoring pre-pandemic immunization coverage and ensure every child receives essential, life-saving vaccines, we call on the DPRK government to promptly allow UNICEF and international UN staff to return to the country,” said Mr. Kupka.
