Second anti-polio round starts today
Second anti-polio round starts today
JAKARTA (JP): The government will launch today the second
round of the mass polio immunization program, more determined to
ensure success by making up for the shortcomings found in the
first round last month.
The various immunization posts that have been set up in every
village across the country are under strict orders to ensure that
not a single child below the age of five years old escapes
vaccination.
The second round of the drive will last for one week but most
provinces, judging from last month's experience, are expected to
complete the task within a day or two.
In all, more than 22.17 million children should be vaccinated.
A 100 percent coverage is vital to eradicate polio from
Indonesia once and for all.
In the first round, the result reached 102 percent of the
original target. The discrepancy was caused by the fact that
there had been children born since the government ran a survey on
the number of children under five years old.
The 102 percent rate was no cause for joy. There were children
that still eluded the campaign in the first round in several
provinces, mostly because they live in isolated and remote areas.
There were also reports that some parents, particularly among
isolated tribes, refused to send their children to the
immunization centers.
East Timor had the lowest success ratio, with 85 percent of
the total of registered children immunized, officials said.
The Ministry of Health, which is supervising the campaign,
said the government is counting on the help of the people to
ensure success.
"The anti-polio drive will not be a success without people's
participation, including the Family Welfare Movement (PKK),"
Nyoman Kumara Rai, Director General of the Public Health Guidance
Education, told reporters yesterday.
The PKK is a grassroots women's organization that has branches
in every village. A branch is usually chaired by the village
chief's wife. PKK's members are running most of the show at the
immunization centers.
Nyoman said that the government has also relocated some of the
posts to ensure more effectiveness.
One of the problems in the first round was that many
immunization centers ran out of polio vaccines because they
underestimated the number of children under five years old.
The immunization campaign will have to be repeated again in
1996 and in 1997, so that Indonesia will be completely free of
the polio virus before the turn of the century.
The total cost of the campaign is put at Rp 45 billion ($19.7
million), with 36 percent of the funds provided by the central
government's budget, 13 percent by the local administrations'
budgets, 17 percent by foreign sponsors, 29 percent by private
donations and the rest from public donations.
Foreign sponsors include Unicef and Rotary International. (31)