INDONESIA: Government comment raises confusion on routine immunisation
JAKARTA, 6 April 2009 (IRIN): A remark by Indonesias health minister could undermine the routine immunisation programme – a key component in containing outbreaks of preventable diseases among children i the vast predominantly muslim country.
Routine immunisation coverage has already deteriorated in the past few years, say health specialists.
About half-a-million children in Indonesia receive no immunisation by their first birthday, a recent government survey stated, while another 2,4 million children are only partially immunised.
– Close to one in two children are not fully immunised by the time they reach their first birthday, Anne Vincent, chief of child survival and development at the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF), told IRIN in Jakarta.
– The earlier a child is immunised, the better the protection, she said.
In Indonesia, a baby dies every three minutes, with 460 dying every day, according to UNICEF.
Close to five million babies need routine vaccination for tuberculosis (TB), polio, diphtheria and Pertussis (whooping cough = kighoste), hepatitis B and measles each year, the agency says.
– We are very concerned about those numbers, the UNICEF official said, describing the routine immunisation programme as vital in the countrys Millennium Development Goal (2015 Mål) of reducing child mortality.
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