Cairo, Egypt, July 5, 2011: This week witnessed the first day of vaccination under “Protection is Their Right” (PITR), the campaign to spread awareness and vaccinate underprivileged, at risk children against pneumonia. “Alashanek Ya Balady” (AYB)’s first visit targeted the children of Shubramant, in cooperation with and at the premises of “Resalet Noor Ala Noor”, a local NGO serving the area.
Children of Shubramant lined up at Resalet Noor Ala Noor’s clinic for their turn to receive the “Prevenar” vaccine, after individually undergoing a medical check-up by a volunteer physician to verify that each child was clear of any medical conditions that can be potentially dangerous when combined with the vaccination. After the medical check-up, a volunteer professional nurse proceeded to successfully vaccinate nearly 150 children, who also received medication to prevent fever after the vaccination.
Through this campaign, AYB, in cooperation with the Egyptian Pharmaceutical Students' Federation (EPSF) and under the auspices of the Egyptian Pediatrics Association (EPA), aims to contribute significantly to the reduction of child mortality in Egypt. The objectives are to raise funds to vaccinate at least 10,000 high risk, underprivileged children before the upcoming World Pneumonia Day in November 2011, establish a vaccination clinic at the EPA’s premises free of charge, and raise public awareness of the disease all over Egypt. Furthermore, PITR will advocate for the inclusion of pneumonia vaccination in the National Immunization Program.
AYB’s “Protection is Their Right” team will continue to vaccinate at risk children up to five years of age in underprivileged communities all over Egypt throughout the coming period, as well as conducting awareness sessions, for which volunteers and donations are urgently needed.
