An agreement was signed today between the Government of Japan and UNICEF to further heighten immunization-programmes for children in Afghanistan. Thanks to the generous contribution of US$ 4.6 million from Japan, more than 7.7 million children in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan will benefit from improved infectious disease prevention and control.
The signing by HE, Mr Shigeyuki Hiroki, the Ambassador of Japan and Ms Catherine Mbengue, UNICEF Representative for Afghanistan took place in the presence of Afghanistan's Minister of Public Health, Dr. S. M. Amin Fatimie and Mr Peter Graaff, Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Afghanistan, at a special ceremony in the Afghan Ministry of Public Health in Kabul (MoPH). Following this, the Grant Agreement was also signed between Mr. Senichi Kimura, Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Afghanistan and Ms Catherine Mbengue.
Systematic immunization of children against potential diseases such as polio, measles, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis, influenza and tuberculosis is essential to achieve long term improvements in child health and a reduction of child mortality. UNICEF estimates that more than 600 children under the age of five die every day in Afghanistan from mostly preventable diseases. Main reasons for the persistence of these diseases include the restricted access to numerous villages due to insecurity, lack of community awareness, limited female service providers and inadequate health infrastructure.
The new Japanese grant will allow the procurement of essential supplies, including vaccines necessary for National Immunization Days (NIDs) and routine immunization. It will help the country to meet the Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 (MDG) related to under-five and maternal mortality reduction.
