News Room
100,000th Red Cross-assisted vaccination in Haiti
March 10, 2010
On March 4, the 100,000th person was vaccinated as part of health campaign launched in Haiti following the earthquake that struck January 12th, 2010. Led by the Haitian health ministry, and supported by other international humanitarian partners, this campaign set out to prevent the spread of disease, especially among people living in crowded make-shift camps. The Red Cross assisted with the campaign.
“These vaccinations are another opportunity for people to survive the tragedy, children above all,” says Dr. Bathélémy Guibert, the director of the municipal health office at Fonds-Verrettes – a municipality in the Croix-des-Bouquets arrondissement in Haiti’s quake zone.
The hundreds of thousands of displaced people left behind meant vaccination was an urgent priority – one the Haitian health ministry was anxious to get back on the agenda in an effort to prevent disease.
Coordination is complex, bringing the health ministry together with the Haitian National Red Cross, community organizations and other humanitarian partners.
“The work is complicated and challenging in this environment,” said Marie-Claude Élie, Canadian Red Cross aid worker and vaccination team leader.
“Coordinating many actors, complying with local procedures and infrastructures, and above all convincing people of the importance of vaccination for the future of their families is a big task if you put it all together.”
The new round of vaccinations got underway on February 8th, including the Haitian Red Cross – with 120 volunteer vaccinators on the ground – and seven National Red Cross Societies from Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea and a joint Canadian-Norwegian team.
The vaccination consists of five different components: measles, diptheria, pertussis and tetanus, as well as albendezol – a deworming agent – and vitamin A.
Five vaccination teams have been operational since February 8th, vaccinating as many as 10,000 in a single day with over 150,000 people expected to benefit from the vaccination campaign..
