National measles vaccination campaign for children under five reaches 95,000 children in Damascus and its countryside

Damascus, SANA- The national measles vaccination campaign which kicked off on Sunday continues its activities in Damascus and its countryside with the goal of reaching about half a million child ages between 7 months and five years.

Director of Damascus Countryside Health Department Yassin Naanous told SANA that the vaccination campaign has reached around 71,600 children including 8,600 children under the age of one year during the last two days, adding that the campaign reached most areas, including unsafe areas.

The campaign is carried out in Damascus Countryside through 110 health centers and 148 temporary points.

For his part, Director of Damascus Health Department Mohammad Ramez Orfali noted that the campaign reached about 24,600 children, including 3,500 children under one year of age, through 39 health centers and 27 temporary health points.

In a similar statement, the Resident Representative of World Health Organization (WHO) in Damascus Elizabeth Hoff clarified that the WHO supported the campaign through technical training programs for the health staff operating in the national vaccination program, fixed and mobile teams, and providing the mobile ones with transportation, lauding the important role of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) in facilitating the provision of the measles vaccines in the areas that are difficult to reach.

The campaign will last till May 25th in different provinces with the aim at reaching 2.466 million children.

Shaza / Hazem Sabbagh

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