Russia to help Angola vaccinate population as epidemic of yellow fever growing

MOSCOW, December 21. /TASS/. Russia will extend assistance to Angola in vaccinating the population, as the country has found itself in the sway of yellow fever, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has unfolded sweeping programs of sanitary and epidemiological counteraction to the disease and has asked the international community to support its efforts. "In this context, the Russian Federation has taken a decision to provide humanitarian assistance to Angola in the framework of the UNICEF effort to vaccinate the country's population," the Foreign Ministry said. Russia-UNICEF project envisions the purchasing, delivery and distribution of 3.4 million doses of the vaccine for more than 3 million people of all age groups and an information campaign among the rank-and-file Angolans. "The decision to support the project was taken as part of implementation of Russia’s state policy in the sphere of assistance to international development," the ministry said. "Aid to Angola in the format of the UNICEF program will facilitate of buildup of the relations of partnership with that African nation and the strengthening of Russia’s positions as a donor nation." Russia is one of the leading global producers of the vaccine for yellow fever, also known as amarillosis or jungle fever. The preparation produced at a factory for antibacterial and antivirus drugs of the Polio and Encephalitis Institute is one of the four world vaccines authorized by the World Health Organization. Read more