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[casi] 210,000 newborns in last 90 days, all vulnerable to preventable diseases



1) Routine immunization of children re-established across Iraq
2) UN envoy continues talks with Iraqi politicians, jurists, journalists


----------------

1)

UNICEF
http://www.unicef.org/

Date: 16 Jun 2003


Routine immunization of children re-established across Iraq

210,000 newborns in last 90 days, all vulnerable to preventable diseases

BAGHDAD, 16 June 2003 -- With support from UNICEF, the Iraqi Ministry of
Health has begun the process of immunizing the country's 4.2 million
children under the age of five against preventable diseases such as polio,
tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, measles and tuberculosis. The World Health
Organization is also contributing to the reactivation of the Iraq's Expanded
Programme of Immunization by re-establishing the country's vital disease
surveillance system.

According to UNICEF, no child in Iraq has been routinely immunized since the
start of military action on 20 March 2003.

"In the past three months, approximately 210,000 children have been born in
Iraq," said Carel de Rooy, UNICEF's Representative in Iraq. "Not one of
these children has been vaccinated against the myriad of deadly and
debilitating diseases young children are susceptible to."

"Parents know how important these immunizations are to their newborn and
young children. An infant's immune system is very fragile and vulnerable to
contracting disease without these vaccines, and given the current conditions
in the country, children are at greater risk than ever if they are not
vaccinated right away," added de Rooy.

With the fall of the former regime came the breakdown of much of Iraq's
health system. The Ministry of Health stopped functioning, communication
between the capital and the governorates became impossible and vital
services like routine immunization collapsed leaving children vulnerable to
disease.

The war also affected the country's store of vaccines. The country's
vaccines were kept in a building at the Vaccine and Serum Institute of
Baghdad. The institute was struck by missiles during the war and all
electricity to the store room was cut.

"When the electricity went down, the cold chain system for preserving
vaccines was rendered useless," said de Rooy. "More damage was caused when
looters tore apart wiring, compressors and circuit boards at the institute
making immediate emergency repairs to the cold chain impossible. In the end,
all vaccine stocks were spoiled and had to be destroyed," he added.

To overcome this situation, UNICEF has been bringing millions of doses of
vaccines into Iraq to restart the country's routine immunization programme
in partnership with the reactivated Ministry of Health. The 25 million doses
of vaccines were purchased through a $3.2 million grant from USAID.

UNICEF has also been working with health officials to repair Iraq's cold
chain system so that the vaccines that are brought in can be properly
stored. The $1.85 million rehabilitation project was covered by funds from
DFID (United Kingdom).

"UNICEF and the Ministry of Health have been focusing our health initiatives
on re-establishing the country's routine immunization system. It is our main
priority for protecting the health of Iraqi children," said de Rooy. "The
size and importance of this endeavour can not be underestimated, and we are
extremely pleased that immunization will begin across Iraq today."

With support from UNICEF and WHO, Iraq has been certified polio-free,
measles has been brought under control, and maternal and neonatal tetanus
eliminated.

However, according to UNICEF all of these gains would be lost if routine
immunization were not restarted quickly. The re-emergence of polio in Iraq
would also risk transmission to neighbouring countries, thereby threatening
the region.

For further information on UNICEF, visit its website at
http://www.unicef.org/

-------------------------------

2)


UN News Service
http://www.un.org/News/
Date: 16 Jun 2003


UN envoy continues talks with Iraqi politicians, jurists, journalists

United Nations envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello, in a second week of talks with
a wide spectrum of Iraqi society, today met with the head of the Iraqi
Constitutional Monarchists Movement, Sherif Ali Bin Hussein, who told him
the UN should not only play a humanitarian role but also be active in the
political and reconstruction spheres.
Mr. Vieira de Mello, Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative,
also met with a group of Iraqi jurists who emphasized the urgent task of
ensuring security and justice. They stressed that the current initiative by
the United States-run provisional Authority did not provide for
consultations and said they believed major decisions were made about the
legal framework and the judiciary with no Iraqi participation.

Mr. Vieira de Mello assured them the UN would make every effort to raise
their concerns with the Authority and pledged UN support for rebuilding the
justice system in the context of resolution 1483, which established its
current mandate in Iraq.

Yesterday, he met with a group of Iraqi journalists and assured them that he
was committed to helping them create a free and independent media as soon as
possible. He said that he, along with various UN agencies in Baghdad, would
organize tangible support for the emergence of a free press in Iraq.

On Saturday, Mr. Vieira de Mello made his first foray outside Baghdad,
traveling to Basra in the south, where he told a group of local political,
religious and tribal leaders that the UN was determined to do its utmost to
see Iraqis rule themselves and form a democratically elected government that
would meet the aspirations of all the people.

On the humanitarian front, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World
Health Organization (WHO) are helping the Iraqi Ministry of Health to
immunize the country's 4.2 million children under the age of five against
preventable diseases such as polio, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, measles
and tuberculosis.

This is the first routine immunization since the start of the armed conflict
in March. Following a missile strike on the Vaccine and Serum Institute in
Baghdad and subsequent looting, UNICEF has been bringing in millions of
doses of vaccines.

"In the past three months, approximately 210,000 children have been born in
Iraq," UNICEF's Representative in Iraq, Carel de Rooy, said. "Not one of
these children has been vaccinated against the myriad of deadly and
debilitating diseases young children are susceptible to."





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