KATHMANDU, September 11: Government has deployed members of child health care teams in various 16 districts across Terai region to further streamline the intensified immunization program.
The teams have been mobilized by the Ministry of Health's Department of Health Services and Child Health Division in districts as Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Saptari, Siraha, Sarlahi, Rautahat, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Bara, Parsa, Chitwan, Kapilvastu, Banke, Bardiya and Kailali.
The teams will work in line with the government's objective to bring every child below 5 years to the access of vaccines.
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Child Health Division's Officer Basanta Shrestha, shared that the members of the team are currently holding interactions with the concerned authorities and stakeholders to formulate plans and program to streamline the immunization drive.
The initiative is technically and financially aided by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.
According to Officer Shrestha, only 70-80 per cent children in Terai region have been immunized despite free vaccination. The teams will monitor the vaccine centers in those 16 districts and will launch awareness drive among the locals.
Although 87 per cent of children in the country were believed to have been immunized, immunization program was found to have covered only 78 percent of children across the country as of 2016.
Around 10 per cent of the children have not received any vaccines yet, the study shows, according to the Ministry of Health.
Although there are 24 types of vaccines listed by the WHO, only 11 types of such vaccines are available in Nepal. These vaccines have been provided by the government for free of cost. RSS
