KSRelief, UNICEF to vaccinate 1.14 million Yemeni children

RIYADH: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) and UNICEF have signed an agreement to extend a children’s vaccination program in Yemen.

Dr. Abdullah Al-Moallem, head of health and environmental aid at KSRelief, told Arab News that the agreement would last for a six-month period. “The project aims to immunize 1.14 million Yemeni children within six months. It will be implemented in all parts of Yemen at a total cost of $4.775 million,” he said.

“KSRelief will also establish a central maintenance and repair workshop very soon, while a cold room and a warehouse are currently being constructed in Aden and Sanaa,” he added.

Al-Moallem noted that 75 percent of the program had already been completed, by vaccinating children under the age of one with the Pentavalent vaccine, which provides protection from several life-threatening diseases including diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B and influenza B.

The agreement was signed by KSRelief’s Assistant Supervisor General of Operations and Programs Ahmed Al-Baiz and UNICEF Representative Eltayeb Adam at the center’s headquarters in Riyadh.

The renewed program will include improving immunization services provided at fixed and mobile sites for basic vaccinations against nine preventable diseases, as well as measles and rubella inoculations. The funding will also provide for the supply of vaccines and the transportation of supplies.

The program will provide 70 solar-powered refrigerators, three cold rooms, and seven sets of equipment for solar refrigerators. It will train 2,000 health workers on implementing immunization programs, and will facilitate 600 field visits with the distribution of brochures and health education lectures. 

Adam noted that the program would contribute to the wider health of Yemeni children, and thanked KSRelief for its work and generous financial support.