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Monday, June 16, 2003

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GENEVA, June 16 (Reuters) - The United Nations children's agency (UNICEF) began routinely immunising Iraqi children on Monday, restarting a programme which collapsed during the U.S. led invasion to topple president Saddam Hussein.

UNICEF said 210,000 babies born in the 90 days since the start of military action were at risk from polio, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis or whooping cough, measles and tuberculosis -- all preventable diseases.

"Not one of these children has been vaccinated against the myriad of deadly and debilitating diseases young people are susceptible to," Carel de Rooy, UNICEF's representative in Iraq, said in a statement.

UNICEF's programme with the Ministry of Health to immunise the country's 4.2 million children under the age of five broke down during the conflict. Many vaccines were destroyed in missile attacks or because of electricity blackouts.

With the support of UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO), Iraq has been certified polio-free, measles has been brought under control and maternal and neonatal tetanus eliminated.

"However...all of these gains would be lost if routine immunisation were not restarted quickly," UNICEF said.

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Direct Link:
--http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L16665441.htm

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