On World Immunization Week 2018 MoPH: We are all Responsible for Protecting our Children through Vaccination
The Information office of the Ministry of Public Health issued the following statement:
On World Immunization Week, the Ministry of Public Health Stressed on the importance of involving all the members of the society – municipalities, civil communities, religious figures and others – in assuming the responsibility of vaccinating children within their geographical scope to protect them from serious diseases that can be prevented with vaccine.
In view of the risk of polio spreading across Lebanon this year, after the country has been kept free from this disease for 15 years, and the outbreak of measles, the Ministry of Public Health took practical emergency steps to prevent Lebanon from pests and epidemics that could have caused the death of many children in this country in particular, and in the Mediterranean countries in general, since it is the only country that people can cross to reach other countries.
In collaboration with UNICEF, WHO and a number of municipalities and local partners, the Ministry launched through the National Expanded Program on Immunization activities to enhance the routine immunization and the awareness campaigns in the regions that are the most vulnerable to these diseases. These activities included home visits to investigate the immunization status of the children and refer the non-immunized children to the closest health center for free vaccination. The National Expanded Program on Immunization at the Ministry of Public Health continues working on disseminating awareness through social activities launched across the Lebanese territory on World Immunization Week and throughout the year through primary healthcare centers in collaboration with the municipalities.
The Ministry of Public Health stresses the need for following up the vaccines of children from birth to the age of 18 to protect them from serious diseases that can be prevented with vaccination, especially that the main vaccines are available for free in all the PHC Centers and dispensaries, knowing that they are high-quality according to WHO standards.