Director of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI): The diphtheria campaign targets 6 states

Kassala/The Citizen

The Federal Chamber of Diphtheria Vaccination Campaign held its meeting with federal supervisors, which targets the ages of 5 to 20 years, in 17 localities from 6 states, in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF with the support of the Global Alliance for Vaccines .

The Director of the Expanded Program on Immunization( EPI ) at the Federal Ministry of Health, Ismail Al-Adani, said that the registration of diphtheria infections among the elderly and the lack of coverage with routine vaccination contributed to the emergence of the epidemic in a number of states, which led to the launch of the campaign in 6 states.

The head of the Federal Chamber for the Vaccination Campaign against Diphtheria disease, Mohamed Al-Hussein Al-Hajj, head of the Department of Additional Activities, confirmed that the campaign is in 6 states, including all the localities of the Nile River, the locality of Karri in the state of Khartoum, the locality of Haya in the Red Sea, Al-Damazin in the Blue Nile, and in the northern state the localities of Meroe, Dongola, and Al- Dabba, in addition to the state of Kassala , the countryside of Khasham al-Qirba, the countryside of New Halfa, and the countryside of the Atbara River, adding that it will last for six days from November 22 to 27.

The Deputy Director of the Additional Activities Department, Abdul Rahim Babiker, revealed that the target number in the 6 states is 2,081,275 people in the specified ages, noting that three rounds have been implemented with an interval of one month between each round.

For his part, the director of supply, Hashem Al-Tayeb Hashem, noted that the six states have received the vaccines allocated to them.

Zaki Hussein, a representative of the Health Promotion Department, pointed to the activities before and during the campaign, stressing the arrival of the booster aids to the states.