UN agencies urge observance of days of tranquility

Heads of UN agencies in Burundi on Friday expressed concern that the continued conflict in the country could hinder a nation-wide polio immunisation campaign scheduled for later this month, a joint statement from the heads of the agencies said. They jointly called on all parties in the country to observe "Days of Tranquility" to allow polio vaccinators safe access to over one million children throughout the country. The UN humanitarian coordinator and the heads of UNICEF and WHO country offices in Burundi, called on all parties to ensure safe passage of health workers during the next two rounds of National Immunisation Days (NIDs) scheduled for 20-24 August and 24-28 September. They said that fighting in Burundi limits humanitarian access to the most vulnerable populations, resulting in preventable deaths among children.

During the course of the 10-day campaign, 1,285,882 children between the ages of 0-59 months are to receive the oral polio vaccine while children aged 6-59 months will receive Vitamin A supplementation. The three heads said that days of tranquility had been observed in many other conflict countries. They noted particularly the just completed immunisation campaigns in several central African countries, including neighbouring DRC, which successfully reached more than 15 million children. They said that these measures were the only means for Burundi to obtain polio certification, which is contingent on the eradication of the wild poliovirus in neighbouring countries.