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SUVA, FIDJI (August 9, 2021) – Deployment of vaccines to protect children against cervical cancer, pneumonia and rotavirus has started in Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu.
The deployment of these three vaccines is part of the US $ 29.7 million System Strengthening Project for Effective New Vaccine Coverage in the Pacific, which supports the introduction of these vaccines in Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the vaccine project was initially set up to support the procurement of rotavirus, pneumococcal conjugate and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines through the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Fund. United Nations for Children (UNICEF).
The project is helping ministries of health to immunize 90,700 children against pneumonia, 71,600 children against rotavirus and 84,200 adolescent girls against HPV infections in the four countries. The project is also helping to update national immunization and cold chain policies, modernize cold chain equipment and supply chain logistics, improve immunization notification systems and undertake other health systems strengthening activities essential to reduce pneumonia, rotavirus and HPV infections.
“This established vaccine project continues to make good progress, improving overall immunization coverage rates, supporting greater efficiency of primary health services and raising community awareness at a critical time as much of the world is affected by the disease. coronavirus (COVID -19), ”said the regional director of the AfDB’s Pacific sub-regional office in Fiji, Masayuki Tachiiri. “It will also help build the region’s resilience against other infectious diseases for the reopening of borders and economies. “
“While the world is naturally focused on scaling up COVID-19 immunization, we cannot afford to trade one health crisis for another,” said UNICEF Pacific Representative Sheldon Yett. “We thank the AfDB for its continued and strengthened partnership in the Pacific and its collaboration with UNICEF to protect children and youth from these vaccine-preventable diseases.
In the Pacific, pneumonia and diarrhea are two of the three leading causes of death in children under five, and about a third of all pneumonia deaths are due to the bacteria pneumococcus, which is usually transmitted through contact with of infected children. Rotaviruses are the leading cause of severe diarrhea in children under five.
Cervical cancer has also been flagged as one of the top three regional priorities by Pacific leaders, with more than a thousand cases of cervical cancer each year.
The project also recently received additional funding to support the four countries in introducing COVID-19 vaccines. The project provides an established platform to safely introduce COVID-19 vaccines to countries, strengthen health systems and raise community awareness.
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Notes to Editors:
About the AfDB:
The AfDB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while continuing its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Founded in 1966, it is owned by 68 members – 49 from the region.
For more information please contact:
Sally Shute Trembath, AfDB Pacific, Tel. : +612 82709444, [email protected]
Zubnah Khan, UNICEF Pacific, Tel. : +679 9988137, [email protected]
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