More than 26,000 children aged 0 to 59 months, the majority displaced by war, are expected, from October 7 to 12, to the multi-antigen vaccination campaign in the Goma health zone (North Kivu).
This catch-up campaign supported by Médecin sans frontières is implemented by the Buhimba health area.
This area is home to at least 7 IDP camps with an estimated population of 400,000 inhabitants, including displaced people and indigenous people.
All these residents face a challenge in accessing quality medical care in addition to poor living conditions.
This campaign is taking place in a site set up not far from the mobile dispensary within the Bulengo camp, around ten km from Goma.
Several health workers are mobilized to administer vaccines to babies, some by injection and others orally.
This campaign aims, among other things, to strengthen the immunities of children who have not been able to receive all the vaccines due to displacement following recurring insecurity in their villages.
Health officials say they have seen a high number of deaths among children who are already vulnerable and living in poor conditions:
« It is a multi-antigen vaccination campaign which only concerns children in conflict with their vaccination schedule and children with zero doses. These are children who have started the BCG vaccine but have not finished the rest ».
They fear that children not yet vaccinated will be victims of repeated epidemics, such as measles and cholera.
This multi-antigen vaccination campaign will last 6 days and dismay 20 displaced sites including 19 in the Buhimba health area including Bulengo, Kinyogote, CEPAC, CBCA Rego, Mabanga, Kibingu, Shifra and others.
