“This This campaign is an important milestone in our efforts to vaccinate all children in the DPRK and protect them from common childhood diseases.“said UNICEF Acting Representative for the country, better known as North Korea, Roland Kupka.
“This is the First step to restore routine immunization and close the gap that has left children vulnerable to preventable diseases,” he added.
On In July, four million doses of essential vaccines, including pentavalent, measles-rubella (MR) vaccine, tetanus-diphtheria vaccine, BCG, hepatitis B vaccine and inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), were delivered to the DPRK to kick-start this comprehensive recovery effort.
Of these, two million doses will be used in the ongoing recovery vaccination campaign, while the rest will be sent to health centres across the country to reinforce routine immunisation programmes.
COVID-19 setback
The COVID-19 pandemic marked a significant setback in immunization rates in the DPRK.
While national rates were above 96 percent before the pandemic, they fell to less than 42 percent by mid-2021, leaving countless children at risk of contracting deadly diseases such as polio, diphtheria, measles, rubella and hepatitis.
Between In 2021 and 2023, UNICEF supported three previous catch-up vaccination campaigns in the DPRK, reaching a combined total of nearly 1.3 million children. who did not receive essential vaccines during the peak of the pandemic.
The current vaccination campaign is aimed at reaching children and pregnant women in the 210 counties that have not received life-saving vaccines since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.
UNICEF campaign efforts
More than 7,200 healthcare workers have been trained to manage vaccination campaigns and deal with potential reactions to vaccines.
In addition, UNICEF provided new freezers, refrigerators, ice chests and temperature labelers to maintain vaccine efficacy even in the most remote areas.
The agency is also supporting the campaign by overseeing the delivery and administration of vaccines and tracking coverage to ensure its success.
“To maintain progress in restoring pre-pandemic vaccination levels and ensure that all children receive essential, life-saving vaccines, we urge the DPRK government to promptly allow the return of UNICEF and UN international staff to the country,” Mr. Kupka said.
