Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday called upon the people's representatives, opinion leaders, health workers, volunteers, mothers and guardians of all children aged up to five years to bring each of the kids to immunization centres to have polio vaccines.
"You all have to be cautious so that no child remains out of immunization as we want to make Bangladesh a polio free country," she said.
The prime minister was formally inaugurating the 18th National Immunization Day beginning tomorrow and a five-day Measles Vaccination Campaign-2010 from February 14 across the country on the premises of her official residence Jamuna in the capital here in the morning.
Sheikh Hasina administered the vaccine to a good number of children to inaugurate the occasion and said her government has taken massive programmes across the country to administer polio vaccine to each child aged up to five years aiming at eradicating the deadly disease from Bangladesh.
Under the programmes, two drops of polio vaccine would be administered to each of the children aged between 0 and 5 while those between 1 and 5 a vitamin-A capsule and 2 and 5 an anti-worm tablet.
A total of 1.40 lakh immunization centres have been set up across the country to administer the vaccines while more than six lakh health workers and volunteers would be involved in the implementation of the programmes.
Referring to the ongoing Extended Programmes for Immunization (EPI), the prime minister said the programme is being implemented nationwide to eradicate six deadly diseases including polio, measles and hooping cough from the country.
In this context, she said some fresh cases of polio are now reported in different areas although the country was freed from the deadly disease during the previous Awami League government.
The prime minister said nearly the lives of two lakh children have been saved and protected from disability with the implementation of the nationwide EPI programme.
She said her government is working relentlessly to reduce child mortality rate to 15 percent from the 65 percent in every thousand by 2021.
Listing various programmes of her government in the health sector, she said beds in different hospitals have been increased while specialized hospitals and institutes are being set up as the government wants to reach health services to the doorsteps of the people.
The prime minister said one community clinic is being set up across the country for each 6,000 people. Besides, 10,723 community clinics set up during the previous Awami League government have been reactivated.
In this context, the government is recruiting some 6,000 doctors while steps have been taken to appoint 5,000 nurses to this end.
Apart from this, she said 13 new nursing schools are being set up while BSC nursing course has been introduced to provide better health services to the people.
Sheikh Hasina said her government will take all possible measurers so that each child could be brought up in a healthy environment.
She called upon all to make the National Immunization Day programmes a success through concerted efforts.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Prof. AFM Ruhal Haque, Health Adviser to the prime minister Prof Dr Syed Modasser Ali, State Minister for Health Affairs Dr Captain (retd) Mojibar Rahman Fakir, Health Secretary Sheikh Altaf Ali, DG (Health) Prof. Shah Monir Hossain, WHO Representatives Dr Duangvadee Sungkhobol and UNICEF Country Representative Carel de Rooy, among others, were present on the occasion.
Source: thedailystar.net
