QRCS supervises polio vaccination for 815000 children in Syria - Syrian Arab Republic - ReliefWeb

QRCS supervises polio vaccination for 815000 children in Syria - Syrian Arab Republic - ReliefWeb

QRCS supervises polio vaccination for 815000 children in Syria - Syrian Arab Republic - ReliefWeb

Posted: 31 Jul 2019 04:31 AM PDT

July 31st, 2019 ― Doha: Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has recently completed the monitoring of the second July polio vaccination campaign in Syria.

Done in cooperation with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the campaign covered more than 815,000 kids in total.

From house to house, QRCS's personnel accompanied the vaccination teams across the Governorate of Idlib, as well as the countryside of Idlib, Aleppo, and Hama.

Oral polio vaccines were given to the children who had not been covered by the previous campaigns. This is one more step towards zero polio transmission in the war-torn country.

Earlier this year, QRCS's representation mission in Gaziantep, Turkey, held an intensive training course both in-house and inside Syria, to improve monitoring, planning, follow-up, and assessment skills among the monitoring personnel, prior to their deployment with the vaccinators.

The process comprised three phases:

(1) Pre-campaign: the supervisors visited the chief centers to make sure that the centers and equipment are well in place;

(2) During campaign: QRCS supervisors examined vaccine samples, checked storage conditions for inconveniences, and accompanied vaccinator teams to assess their performance at health centers and households and take notes; and

(3) Post-campaign: The results were analyzed for lessons learnt, which will be considered in future campaigns.

Under a five-year cooperation agreement, QRCS and UNICEF work together on a wide range of humanitarian development, protection, and response actions for children in affected regions. These include, but are not limited to, (1) the lives, survival, and development of young children; (2) gender equality in basic education; (3) HIV/AIDS in children; (4) protection against, prevention of, and response to all forms of violence, exploitation, and abuse; and (5) promotion of applicable policy compliance and partnership building for children's rights protection.

End of Text

About Qatar Red Crescent (QRCS)

Established in 1978, Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) is a humanitarian volunteering organization that aims to assist and empower vulnerable individuals and communities without partiality or discrimination.
QRCS is a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which consists of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and 191 National Societies. QRCS is also a member of several GCC, Arab, and Islamic organizations, such as the Islamic Committee of International Crescent and the Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Organization (ARCO). In this legally recognized capacity, QRCS has access to disaster and conflict zones, thus serving as an auxiliary to the State of Qatar in its humanitarian efforts — a role that distinguishes it from other local charities and NGOs.
QRCS operates both locally and internationally and has ongoing international relief and development projects in a number of countries throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Europe. QRCS's humanitarian actions include providing support in disaster preparedness, disaster response, risk reduction, and disaster recovery. To mitigate the impact of disasters and improve the livelihoods of affected populations, QRCS provides medical services, healthcare, and social development to local communities. It is also active at the humanitarian advocacy front. With the help of a vast network of trained, committed staff and volunteers, QRCS aspires to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity.
QRCS works under the umbrella of the seven international humanitarian principles: Humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality.

Club donates $7,500 for immunizations - Examiner Enterprise

Posted: 31 Jul 2019 05:10 AM PDT

Members of the Bartlesville Rotary Club have donated a record $7,500 over the past 12 months toward the global effort to end polio, a preventable disease that once paralyzed hundreds of thousands of children each year.

The 130-member club, which meets each Monday, provided the funds toward Rotary International's Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a $100-million drive to end poliovirus transmission, which is now confined to just two countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan, where 33 cases were reported in 2018.

The local club's contribution came from loose change donations that were placed by members in the "polio jar" during club meetings and from individual member donations directly to Polio Plus, including a major contribution from a single member.

"We're thrilled to be able to provide such substantial help to what has been a signature project of Rotary International for more than four decades," said Annah Fischer, club president. "It's our hope that the world is now witnessing the last days of the threat of polio as every child everywhere is protected by vaccination."

While there were only 33 cases of wild poliovirus reported last year, the last mile of eradication has proven to be the most difficult. Barriers to eradication — particularly weak health systems, insecurity and mobile and remote populations — must be overcome.

Although polio cases have decreased by over 99% since 1988, from an estimated more than 350 000 cases to 22 reported cases in 2017. However, as long as a single child remains infected with poliovirus, children in all countries are at risk of contracting the disease. The poliovirus can easily be imported into a polio-free country and can spread rapidly amongst unimmunized populations.

Rotary has committed to raising $50 million a year to be matched 2-to-1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, amounting to $150 million for polio eradication annually. Rotary has contributed more than $1.9 billion to fight the disease, including matching funds from the Gates Foundation, and countless volunteer hours since launching PolioPlus in 1985.

In 1988, Rotary became a spearheading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Gates Foundation later joined. Since the initiative launched, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9 percent, from about 350,000 cases in 1988 to 33 cases of wild poliovirus in 2018.

The Bartlesville Rotary Club joined clubs around the world in raising funds to ensure that every child in every country is immunized from polio. The club provided a record $7500 over the last 12 months toward universal vaccination programs such as this one in India, where just two drops of the oral vaccine, administered during childhood in four doses, provides lifetime protection.

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