2023-08-24 21:14:21
Quito, August 24, 2023
3.4 million children were vaccinated against polio, measles and rubella, in just 14 weeks
The Ministry of Public Health (MSP) managed, in just 14 weeks, to vaccinate 3.4 million girls and boys under 12 years of age, within the high-quality follow-up vaccination campaign: “For an Ecuador Free of Polio, Measles and Rubella”. This historic achievement was possible thanks to the inter-institutional work of various government entities, academia, thousands of health professionals, and international organizations such as the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO); the United Nations Fund (Unicef) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The results were presented on August 24 after the successful completion of the Rapid Vaccination Monitoring (MRV), which corresponds to the third phase of the campaign. In this phase, more than 500,000 homes were visited, with the support of 20,000 officials from the Ministry of Health and technical support from PAHO.
In Ecuador, 95 out of 100 children are vaccinated, after verifying it on the ground in the 24 provinces of the country. “Of a total of 221 cantons, 216 reached 95% of vaccinated children and the remaining five with coverage between 90% and 94%,” said the Minister of Public Health, José Ruales, during a press conference in Quito.
PAHO/WHO, UNICEF, and IOM agreed that the campaign “was very successful, of high quality, and executed in record time.” Desiree Pastor, regional adviser to the PAHO/WHO Immunization Program, announced that the Ecuadorian high-quality vaccination campaign model will be shown to the world as a pilot organization, coordination, and micro-planning model that shielded the population against these diseases and that will also strengthen the regular vaccination program.
“Teamwork allowed the success of the vaccination campaign against poliomyelitis, rubella and measles, in favor of all the children of Ecuador,” indicated Minister Ruales after thanking all the health professionals who traveled throughout the country and thus achieve these goals. The vaccination campaign had an investment of USD 23 million, in vaccines, supplies, cold chain equipment, human talent, mobility and communication actions.
Adrián Díaz, PAHO/WHO representative in Ecuador, recognized the efforts of the National Government in investing and mobilizing human talent to protect the country’s children. “Vaccination is the best cost-effective strategy on a global scale, which saves millions of lives,” he said. He added that one of the objectives is to cover the immunization gap in children, which was affected in previous years due to COVID-19.
For her part, Luz Ángela Melo, resident representative of Unicef, stressed that mass vaccination ensures an Ecuador without the presence of these diseases. She indicated that the priority was always to continue promoting vaccination campaigns in favor of the world population. “I want to recognize all the health workers and the rest of the institutions for their commitment to the children of the country.”
Finally, within the immunization strategy led by the MSP, Minister Ruales confirmed that his administration guarantees a sufficient stock of vaccines for the next 24 months.
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