The bivalent oral polio vaccine donated by the Indonesian government to the people of Afghanistan has reportedly been fully administered to 8.6 million children in the country.
As reported by BetweenTuesday (2/7), the distribution of the polio vaccine was carried out through cooperation between the International Development Cooperation Fund (LDKPI) or Indonesian AID and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
LDKPI President Director Tormarbulang Lumbantobing said the vaccination program had been used to vaccinate more than 11.4 million children in 32 provinces in Afghanistan throughout April to May 2024, with vaccines from Indonesia covering 76 percent of the vaccines used throughout the national campaign.
This support is provided considering that Afghanistan is still one of two remaining countries in the world that still has polio endemic status.
The country’s vaccination efforts still face various challenges, including limited vaccine supply, sanitation, health infrastructure and social conditions.
Furthermore, he said that this support is Indonesia’s commitment to protecting the rights and future of children, including protecting them from vaccine-preventable diseases.
On the other hand, this program is also expected to be a means of promoting quality Indonesian-made vaccine and drug products such as PT Bio Farma’s production to the global market. Especially to meet
the needs of United Nations (UN) agencies that carry out programs to improve the quality of health or handle outbreaks in certain countries or regions that are crucial.
“Moreover, Indonesia is one of the countries producing polio vaccines that has a reputation in the world,” he said. (Z-6)
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