5.2 million children, 270,000 pregnant women expected at Burundi's Mother and Child Health Week
Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) - Burundi on Wednesday launched the 2021 edition of the Week dedicated to maternal and child health, for the benefit of 5.2 million children under 15 years and 270,000 pregnant women.
The programme is in partnership with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Canadian government, an official statement said.
The target groups will receive "free" vitamin A supplementation for proper growth of children aged 6 to 59 months, deworming with Albendazole for those aged 1-14 years, as well as pregnant women in their second and third trimesters, a UNICEF statement said.
The activity, usually routine since 2002 in Burundi, takes on a special character this year. For UNICEF, in this period of pandemic linked to the coronavirus, "it is crucial to maintain children's access to essential health services such as vaccination, supplementation and deworming.
In this context, appropriate preventive measures have been planned, such as hand washing with clean water and soap, respecting physical distance, wearing masks by distributors, vaccinators and supervision teams.
The week's activities will take place in health centre compounds, outposts and schools. To ensure the success of the activity, community health workers have been prepared to identify children under two years of age who have missed vaccination appointments and need to be caught up.
Maternal and child health week will also be marked by raising awareness about the prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic and diseases related to poor hygiene.
Burundi launched this activity on the same day as the celebration of the Day of the African Child and the 11th African Immunisation Week (AIV) under the central theme: "Vaccines bring us together".
-0- PANA FB/JSG/SOC/BBA/VAO 16June2021
