Saifullah Sani
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Punjab Minister for Primary and Secondary Healthcare, Khawaja Imran Nazir said on Friday that Punjab government has introduced the "Rotavirus vaccine" in the routine immunisation schedule of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI).
Speaking at the launching ceremony of Rotavirus Vaccine, here on Friday, Nazir said that in the first phase, the vaccine is being introduced in six districts of Punjab ie, Lahore, Multan, Khushab, Kasur, Mandi Bahauddin and Muzaffargarh reaching more than one million children. The vaccine will be later introduced in the rest of the province which accounts for 20 percent of Pakistan birth cohort.
The Rotavirus vaccine will be the 10th vaccine to be introduced in the immunisation programme. Administered in two oral doses for children of six weeks as well as 10 weeks of age, it will help reduce diarrhea-related mortality in children below five. Punjab reports around 1.2 million cases of diarrhea annually with thousands deaths due to diarrhea including 40-45 percent related to Rotavirus.
Imran Nazir said, "The vaccine will reduce diarrhea-related mortality in the province by a significant margin. We are grateful to our international development partners, GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF and WHO for providing vaccines as well as technical and material support for introducing the new vaccine,". "GAVI commends the Punjab government for its strong leadership and financial commitment to introduce rotavirus vaccine," said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of GAVI and the Vaccine Alliance.
"By protecting the children of Punjab from one of the largest causes of childhood mortality, this vaccine has potential to save thousands of lives every year. And this impact will increase significantly further once the vaccine is rolled out nation-wide with GAVI support," Dr Seth said.
Angela Kearney, the country Representative of UNICEF in Pakistan said, "I warmly congratulate the Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif and the government on this significant achievement, which means that the lives of thousands of children will be saved every year." She said that Punjab is truly showing the way for the rest of the country.
The representative of international partners in their speeches also lauded the efforts of the chief minister Punjab and appreciated him for taking personal interest for health sector development.
Minister for Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education said, "The year 2016 has been a year of successes for EPI in Punjab. Introduction of a new vaccine, a year without a polio case and validation of mother and Neo Natal Tetanus are great achievements". "With innovation and enhanced supervision and monitoring, Punjab has been able to increase its routine immunisation coverage (Penta 3) from 64 percent in 2014 to over 86 percent within one year," he added.
National EPI Programme Manager, Dr Syed Saqlain Ahmed Gilani, said that immunisation is one of the most powerful and cost-effective of all health interventions. The EPI is providing free of cost vaccination against nine vaccine preventable diseases. Inclusion of Rotavirus vaccine, the tenth antigen will boost immunity of children against diarrhea and significantly reduce the burden of disease amongst children under five. The launching ceremony was attended by Punjab Secretary for Primary and Secondary Healthcare Ali Jan Khan, Senior Country Manager Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Dr Hamidreza Setayesh, Country Representative, UNICEF Pakistan, Belgium Ambassador to Pakistan, Frederic Verheyden, professors from leading teaching hospitals and representatives from WHO and the Gates Foundation representatives in Pakistan.
http://www.brecorder.com/general-news/172/123528/
Speaking at the launching ceremony of Rotavirus Vaccine, here on Friday, Nazir said that in the first phase, the vaccine is being introduced in six districts of Punjab ie, Lahore, Multan, Khushab, Kasur, Mandi Bahauddin and Muzaffargarh reaching more than one million children. The vaccine will be later introduced in the rest of the province which accounts for 20 percent of Pakistan birth cohort.
The Rotavirus vaccine will be the 10th vaccine to be introduced in the immunisation programme. Administered in two oral doses for children of six weeks as well as 10 weeks of age, it will help reduce diarrhea-related mortality in children below five. Punjab reports around 1.2 million cases of diarrhea annually with thousands deaths due to diarrhea including 40-45 percent related to Rotavirus.
Imran Nazir said, "The vaccine will reduce diarrhea-related mortality in the province by a significant margin. We are grateful to our international development partners, GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF and WHO for providing vaccines as well as technical and material support for introducing the new vaccine,". "GAVI commends the Punjab government for its strong leadership and financial commitment to introduce rotavirus vaccine," said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of GAVI and the Vaccine Alliance.
"By protecting the children of Punjab from one of the largest causes of childhood mortality, this vaccine has potential to save thousands of lives every year. And this impact will increase significantly further once the vaccine is rolled out nation-wide with GAVI support," Dr Seth said.
Angela Kearney, the country Representative of UNICEF in Pakistan said, "I warmly congratulate the Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif and the government on this significant achievement, which means that the lives of thousands of children will be saved every year." She said that Punjab is truly showing the way for the rest of the country.
The representative of international partners in their speeches also lauded the efforts of the chief minister Punjab and appreciated him for taking personal interest for health sector development.
Minister for Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education said, "The year 2016 has been a year of successes for EPI in Punjab. Introduction of a new vaccine, a year without a polio case and validation of mother and Neo Natal Tetanus are great achievements". "With innovation and enhanced supervision and monitoring, Punjab has been able to increase its routine immunisation coverage (Penta 3) from 64 percent in 2014 to over 86 percent within one year," he added.
National EPI Programme Manager, Dr Syed Saqlain Ahmed Gilani, said that immunisation is one of the most powerful and cost-effective of all health interventions. The EPI is providing free of cost vaccination against nine vaccine preventable diseases. Inclusion of Rotavirus vaccine, the tenth antigen will boost immunity of children against diarrhea and significantly reduce the burden of disease amongst children under five. The launching ceremony was attended by Punjab Secretary for Primary and Secondary Healthcare Ali Jan Khan, Senior Country Manager Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Dr Hamidreza Setayesh, Country Representative, UNICEF Pakistan, Belgium Ambassador to Pakistan, Frederic Verheyden, professors from leading teaching hospitals and representatives from WHO and the Gates Foundation representatives in Pakistan.
http://www.brecorder.com/general-news/172/123528/
