QRCS Contributes to UN Polio Vaccination Campaign for Syrian Children

Doha, October 14 (QNA) - Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has recently completed the external monitoring of the polio vaccination of children in Syria, in partnership with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). A trained QRCS team accompanied the vaccination personnel across Afrin City to monitor the vaccination process and ensure compliance with international standards, QRCS said in a statement on Sunday. Covering 38,300 under-5 children in total, the process comprised three phases: pre-vaccination: the inspectors visited the main centers to make sure that the premises and equipment are well in place; vaccination: they examined vaccination samples, checked storage conditions for inconveniences, and monitored the vaccinators to assess their performance as they visited the health centers and houses to administer the vaccines to the target kids; and post-vaccination: the results were drawn and analyzed for lessons learnt, to be considered in future procedures. QRCS has already monitored several polio, measles, and rubella vaccination campaigns inside Syria, in cooperation with UNICEF and other local and global humanitarian organizations. These drives served millions of children in Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia, Hama, and other Syrian governorates. Commenting on the program, QRCS Secretary-General Ali bin Hassan Al Hammadi said that QRCS completed the monitoring of the campaign to immunize the Syrian children against polio, in an attempt to improve the living conditions of the Syrian brothers inside and outside of Syria, meet their basic needs, and protect the younger generations against physical impairment, noting that few oral vaccine drops can make a productive and capable person. Al Hammadi affirmed QRCS's commitment to upholding the medical sector in Syria, improving public health, and alleviating the severe health conditions suffered by millions of Syrian children directly affected by the seven-year crisis in their country. QRCS enjoys a long experience in the monitoring of child vaccination campaigns. Its mission in Gaziantep, Turkey, regularly holds intensive training courses for vaccination supervisors, both at the mission's premises and inside Syria, to develop their supervisory, planning, follow-up, and assessment skills. (QNA)