THE APPG FOR GLOBAL
ACTION AGAINST CHILDHOOD PNEUMONIA WELCOMES
UNICEF EFFORTS TO
VACCINATE CHILDREN IN THE DADAAB REFUGEE CAMP
The APPG for Global Action against Childhood Pneumonia today
welcomed the efforts of UNICEF to provide routine pneumococcal vaccinations for
children entering the Dadaab refugee complex but warned that more must be done.
Childhood pneumonia
is the leading infectious cause of child mortality worldwide, causing over 1.5
million child deaths every year. Many of these deaths could be averted with the
use of simple vaccines and effective treatments. Without a concerted effort on
behalf of the global community, pneumonia will continue to claim the lives of
millions of children each year.
Kenya was among the first countries in Africa to introduce the
vaccine against pneumococcal disease, one of the leading causes of pneumonia,
and, thanks to UNICEF, this vaccine has now been supplied to all three refugee
reception points in the Dadaab complex.
Located in the North Eastern Province of Kenya, on the
Kenya-Somalia border, the Dadaab camp is the world’s largest refugee complex.
Established in 1991 as a temporary measure to help refugees fleeing conflict in
Somalia, it is now home to around 430,000 inhabitants and is estimated to grow
at a rate of 1,200 new arrivals every day. The Dadaab complex now ranks as the
third largest population centre in Kenya after the capital Nairobi and the city
of Mombasa.
It is estimated that around forty percent of children
entering the Dadaab camp have received no vaccinations at all and, despite the
efforts of a range of NGOs, malnutrition, diarrhoea and respiratory tract
infections remain widespread in the complex. With such a high concentration of
people, hygiene standards are extremely low and the complex suffers from a
critical shortage of clean water.
Co-chair of the APPG, Lord Eric Avebury said “Its brilliant
that UNICEF are providing for the vaccination against pneumococcal disease –
and also against rotavirus, the second biggest killer of small children - in
the vast Dadaab camps. We must develop a coordinated response to protect other
refugee children in Africa, such as those in new camps for the 35,000 in
Ethiopia fleeing the attacks on civilians in Sudan’s disputed Blue Nile state”.
The APPG for Global Action against Childhood Pneumonia was
established to raise awareness of the global disease burden of childhood
pneumonia and to increase access to effective prevention and treatment
interventions such as vaccines, effective use of antibiotics and education
around the disease.
Further information: Eric Avebury 020 7274 4617
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