Staff Reporter:
Health Adviser Nur Jahan Begum yesterday instructed the authorities concerned to take all-out steps to achieve 100 percent coverage of typhoid vaccination that will begin from October 12 across the country.
“The death rate of children from typhoid fever in the country is not acceptable,” she said while address-ing as the chief guest the National Advocacy Meeting on ‘Typhoid Vaccination Campaign-2025’, held at Shaheed Abu Sayeed Convention Hall in city’s Shahbagh area.
Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser for Health Prof. Dr Sayedur Rahman was present at the meeting as special guest while Health Secretary Md Saidur Rahman presided over it.
Director General (DG) of the Health Services Prof Dr Md Abu Zafar, Additional Secretary of the Public Health wing of the health ministry ATM Saiful Islam, DG, NGO Affairs Bureau Daud Miah, UNICEF representative Dipika Sharma and Deputy Representative of the World Health Organization Dr Rajesh Narwal, among others, spoke at the meeting.
Nur Jahan Begum said that the vaccination programme for protecting the children from typhoid fever would begin across the country from October 12 with a target to give vaccine to five crore children. All the children aged from nine months to 15 years can take this vaccine, she added.
Laying emphasis on the vaccination campaign, the adviser said that all the children would be given the vaccine either they have or haven’t their birth certificates. The EPI programme has already succeeded due to vaccination and the vaccination for typhoid would have to be made successful, said Nur Jahan Begum.
Special Assistant Dr Sayedur Rahman said that vaccination is the most successful programme in the health sector and the typhoid vaccination would be added to the programme.
“We want to increase additional manpower incorporating the medical colleges, nursing colleges and in-tern doctors for making the vaccination drive successful,” he added.
The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations and the UNICEF have been assisting the typhoid vaccination programme jointly.
