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Health campaigns a success despite ongoing conflict

[Nepal] Sore but happy - after receiving measles vaccination in a remote village in Humla district. IRIN
Sore but happy - after receiving measles vaccinations in a remote village in Humla district
Sabita Tharu is joyful as her 6-month-old daughter receives a vitamin A capsule from female health care volunteer (FCHV) Meena Thapa. “My daughter’s safe now,” Sabita told IRIN as she queued along with hundreds of other mothers at the health post in Hapur village in Dang district, nearly 400 km southwest of the Nepali capital, Kathmandu. “Until a few years ago, it used to be so difficult to convince the women to bring their children here for vitamin A supplements but now they come on their own,” Thapa told IRIN. Over 80,000 FCHVs like her operate in the remotest villages in rural areas. The national vitamin A supplementation programme that was organised in the last week of April has proved a success despite an escalating civil war between government forces and Maoist rebels. The campaign is run twice a year and aims to end vitamin A deficiency in Nepal. It is regarded as one of the most effective programmes in the developing world, reaching about 3.3 million Nepali children under five in all 75 districts of the country. The programme is supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Nepali Technical Assistance Group (NTAG). Vitamin A supplementation can reduce the under-five mortality rate by 30 percent and the programme is estimated to be averting the deaths of an estimated 12,000 Nepali children each year. The nationwide de-worming of children, also organised during the same week, is aimed to reach over 2.8 million. Almost half of Nepali children are stunted and malnourished. Intestinal worm infections are a chronic problem that reduces the amount of iron they absorb, resulting in weakness and anaemia. “The success of this campaign proves that there is no obstacle from the conflict for such programmes related to children’s health,” Parsuram Shrestha from Kathmandu’s Child Health Division told IRIN. There were fears that Maoist insurgents whose nine-year armed campaign against the state has been escalating, would pose problems for national health campaigns such as this. In early March, UNICEF executive director Carol Bellamy had expressed such concerns. “It is vital that these [health] supplies reach remote areas as soon as possible. Both sides need to put the health of Nepal’s children first,” she said. It appears Bellamy’s call has been heeded. Even in remote mountain districts like Humla, more than 750 km from Kathmandu and regarded as a Maoist rebel stronghold, the health campaigns were carried out without major incident. Health workers, FCHVs, a government monitoring team and UNICEF staff were allowed to travel freely anywhere in Humla district. A group of Nepali journalists also visited the area to observe the health campaign in action. “I will not have measles now,” a cheerful looking nine-year-old, Sabina Bohara, told IRIN while pointing to the arm where she had received a shot of the anti-measles vaccine. “Let me show mine too,” added her equally excited friend Lila Bohara who had stood for hours with hundreds of other children in Simikot, the district headquarters of Humla, to receive the injections. The measles vaccination campaign in villages in Humla district was taken so seriously by local people that every family with young children rushed to the vaccination centres set up at health posts. Mothers were seen literally fighting with each other to be the first one to get their children vaccinated. “I hope my child won’t miss the vaccination,” said Rama Shahi, an anxious looking mother of three. The anti-measles campaign, begun in September 2004, is now in its third and final phase. According to local health officials in Humla, nearly 123,000 children will be immunised when the campaign concludes in May. This means 9.5 million Nepali children will have received the life-saving vaccine in less than eight months. Every year, about 150,000 children suffer from measles in Nepal and the campaign aims to cut by half the annual death toll of about 5,000 children, as well as reduce the number who suffer complications such as blindness, deafness and mental disability. “Almost every mother came with her child. So, the campaign was very successful,” explained 62-year-old FCHV Kalu Raut in Simikot. Her job is to make sure that no child misses the vaccination. “This is the perhaps the time when I felt that there was peace in the country,” she added. “Even the young children have understood the importance of vaccination, which is why almost everyone is here,” said 50-year-old FCHV Luarno Shahi in Daraphai village while she tried to control the heaving queue of children lining up at the vaccination centre. Many children are disabled because of complications caused by measles for which there is no treatment. “Prevention is the best option and the only way is to get vaccinated against measles,” said Vishnu Pradhan from the Ministry of Health (MOH). The campaign, led by the Ministry of Health, is supported by the Nepal Family Health Programme, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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