UNICEF warns of health crisis for kids in South Asia
United Nations, April 30
South Asia could face another health emergency if the unimmunised or partially immunised children in the region — nearly 4.5 million of whom live in India, Pakistan
and Afghanistan — do not receive their life-saving vaccine shots due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, the UNICEF has warned.
Sporadic outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, including measles and diphtheria, have already been seen in parts of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal, the UN Children’s Fund said.
“With lockdowns in place as a part of the novel coronavirus response, routine immunisations have been severely disrupted, and parents are increasingly reluctant to take their children to health centres for routine jabs,” it said.
“Vaccine stocks are running dangerously low in some countries of the region as supply chains have been disrupted with travel bans and cancelled flights. The manufacturing of the vaccines has also been disrupted, creating additional shortages,” Regional Health Advisor for UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia (ROSA) Paul Rutter said.
“As long as frontline health workers take the appropriate precautions, particularly washing their hands, there is no reason not to vaccinate – in fact, it is crucial that vaccination continues,” Rutter said. — PTI
Vulnerable children
Almost a quarter of the world’s unimmunised or immunised children live in South Asia.
Almost all of them (4.5 mn), or 97 per cent, live in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The South Asia region is also home to two of the last polio endemic countries in the world, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
