Kyiv, 26 October 2023 – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has delivered a new batch of critical vaccines to support Ukraine’s national immunization program and protect children across the country from dangerous diseases such as polio and diphtheria. UNICEF, a trusted partner of Ukraine’s Ministry of Health, procured and delivered an additional 156,960 doses of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), 50,000 doses of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine and 32,000 doses of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) vaccine.
The procurement and delivery of the HiB and DTP vaccines was made possible with funding from the Japanese government.
“Children have the right to stay healthy and protected from vaccine-preventable diseases. Despite the many challenges of the ongoing war, ensuring an uninterrupted supply of vaccines for routine immunization in Ukraine is crucial,” UNICEF Representative in Ukraine Murat Murat Sahin said. “UNICEF is supporting vaccination by making vaccines available to protect children. Our priority is to help ensure that health facilities across Ukraine have stocks of these life-saving vaccines so that all children can be vaccinated. “We are calling on parents Review your child’s immunization schedule with a guardian to make sure your child is protected. “
Vaccines provided by UNICEF are effective against a range of diseases:
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**Polio** is a highly contagious disease that poses a serious threat to the nervous system and can lead to paralysis or death. Paralysis can be lifelong, and many polio patients can become disabled. The only way to effectively prevent this disease is through vaccination. If any vaccinations are missed, protection is reduced and catch-up vaccinations are needed. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared the 2021 poliovirus outbreak in Ukraine over, polio remains a global threat and routine vaccination should continue according to vaccination plans.
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arrive Haemophilus influenzae infection Can cause serious complications. Haemophilus influenzae type b is a bacterium that can cause life-threatening illness. Infants and children are most at risk of severe illness. Even if treatment is successful, there may be lasting effects such as hearing loss, seizures, limb loss and learning disabilities. Vaccination is the best way to prevent severe Hib infection.
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Whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus May cause serious health consequences. The combined DPT vaccine effectively prevents three dangerous infections. Diphtheria affects the heart, nervous system and kidneys, killing one in five patients. If tetanus gets into a cut or wound, it can be infected in an unvaccinated person through contact with dirt that contains tetanus spores. It can damage the nervous system and cause seizures, with a mortality rate of up to 70%. Whooping cough bacteria are highly contagious, infecting the lungs and causing a rapid, violent and uncontrollable cough that causes the lungs to completely lose air. In infants, life-threatening breathing pauses (apnea) may result.
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Editorial Notes
In 2022 and 2023, to support immunization in Ukraine, UNICEF procured more than 2.89 million doses of vaccines (polio, hepatitis B, diphtheria and tetanus for children and adults, measles, mumps, rubella, tuberculosis). BCG, pentavalent vaccine, rabies vaccine) at the request of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
In addition, UNICEF has strengthened the cold chain at all levels from national and regional stores to vaccination sites:
- UNICEF purchased 26 freezers under the COVAX initiative and installed them at national and regional levels to strengthen the immunity chain.
- Nearly 5,200 vaccine refrigerators and freezers, purchased with World Bank funding and being installed, will support safe storage at vaccination sites.
- To ensure the supply of vaccines, including in the most affected areas, UNICEF used its own funds and USAID funds to purchase 36 refrigerated trucks to transport from countries to states and from states to vaccination sites of vaccine transportation.
- In addition, vaccine transport trucks and cold boxes for vaccine storage and transportation are distributed across Ukraine and are used at more than 2,500 vaccination sites and 800 mobile teams.
To ensure the vaccination process, UNICEF has delivered nearly 6.2 million syringes in 2023.
Media Contact
Damian Lance
Chief Advocacy and Communications
UNICEF Ukraine
Email: drance@unicef.org