First batch of children vaccines arrives in Kobani after two months of interruption
Kobani- North-Press Agency
Fattah Issa – Fayad Muhammad
The first batch of children vaccines sent by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) arrived in the city of Kobani, last Friday, coming from Al-Jazira region after two months of interruption upon the Turkish military and its affiliated armed groups’ invasion on the 9th of October, in north-eastern Syria. As Most of the vaccines and medicines were arriving in Kobani from al-Jazira via Semalka border-crossing coming from Kurdistan Region, provided by international humanitarian and medical organizations.
Shortage of some vaccines
The co-chair of the Kurdish Red Crescent Organization in the Euphrates region, Leyla Najati, told North-Press that the first batch of vaccines that arrived included 10,500 doses of the five-year vaccine and the same for measles and tetanus vaccines, and 6,400 oral doses of the paralysis vaccine, noting that BCG tuberculosis vaccine and triple MMR vaccine have not yet arrived. Ms. Najati added that the quantity of vaccines that arrived in Kobani and its countryside is sufficient for about one month, noting that humanitarian organizations have promised them to send other batches during the next two weeks to secure the region's need for vaccines for at least three months.
Moreover, Leyla Najati pointed that an integrated team of the Kurdish Red Crescent supervises the work of vaccination. It started yesterday by providing routine vaccines to children in the centers affiliated with the Kurdish Red Crescent in Kobani and its countryside.
Eight vaccination centers for children
Rania Kawi, a member of the vaccine team in the Kurdish Red Crescent, explained that the organization's vaccine teams provide vaccines to children in eight centers from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., distributed in the city and its countryside. She pointed out that the first team will deliver the vaccines on Saturday in the village of Pender, west of Kobani, and on Sunday and Monday in the city of Kobani, while on Tuesday in the village of Sheran, east of Kobani, and on Wednesday in the village of Tal Ghazal, south of Kobani, then the vaccinations will take place on Thursday in the town of al-Qenah, west of Kobani.
Ms. Kawi added that the second team will provide vaccines in the village of Khanik, southeast of Kobani, on Saturday, while on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday vaccination process will take place in the town of Serrin, south of Kobani, and on Thursday it will be in the town of Jalabiya, southeast of Kobani.
The importance of vaccines
For her part, Laila Muhammad, a mother of a one-year-old girl, explained that her daughter had not received the vaccines for two months because of the unavailability, but today she vaccinated her after the vaccines arrived in the city, demanding to provide these vaccines permanently, especially that the lack of vaccinations may cause serious diseases.
The administration of the Kurdish Red Crescent in the Euphrates region explained that although they tried to communicate with the World Health Organization, but they received no response, pointing out that the vaccination campaigns that were taking place in the region were supported by UNICEF and World Health Organization as they were primarily responsible for providing these vaccines, but these campaigns were stopped about two years ago in the region due to the lack of vaccines in general.
It is worth noting that in November 2018, the Kurdish Red Crescent vaccinated about 45,000 children against polio in the Euphrates region, in coordination with the Health Authority and the support from World Health Organization.