Children Polio/Georgia

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Children in particular continue to be at risk from polio in some perhaps not so expected countries. Polio spreads across borders and in this instance in the former Soviet states of central Asia and the Caucuses. Fortunately the problem is one of prevention, and relatively straightforward except for matters of fear and logistics. Polio is not yet eradicated, and it is too early to claim victory. Abkhazia - Georgia

Transcripts / Production notes / Scripts

“There was a major outbreak of polio in Tajikistan, which spread to Kirgizstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, even the Northern Caucasus states and it is coming so close to Abkhazia and the immunization system is so weak that we decided to do a Polio campaign to protect all children against Polio.”

Lika Gamisonia, Chief Paediatric Doctor of the Gali Region:
“With the assistance from UNICEF and other non-governmental organizations we have conducted the trainings in schools and for the health professionals that are working in the villages. We also got help from our mobile operators, there were text messages sent to all the mobile phones. We also have provided them with the phone numbers that now basically serve as a hot line.”

Izolda Dzhgarkava, Paediatric Doctor:
“There is a very positive attitude from the parents towards the vaccination. We did not have any refusals.”

Irma Shonia, Baby’s Aunt:
“We are doing all the vaccinations that are in the schedule so our daughter will be strong, beautiful and the most importantly – healthy."

Schools, polyclinics and immunization centres in Abkhazia are full with children today. Parents and their children are queuing to get the oral polio vaccine as the UNICEF supported immunization campaign has started in Abkhazia. The campaign aims to immunize all children aged 0 to 17.

Polio is a highly contagious disease which may lead to lifetime disabilities or in some cases even result in death of a child so there was a very pressing reason for the vaccination campaign conducted by UNICEF in collaboration with local authorities.

Roeland Monasch UNICEF Representative:
“There was a major outbreak of polio in Tajikistan, which spread to Kirgizstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, even the Northern Caucasus states and it is coming so close to Abkhazia and the immunization system is so weak that we decided to do a Polio campaign to protect all children against Polio.”

In the last four months leading up this campaign, UNICEF’s team had to overcome quite a few challenges. Still badly affected by 1992’s civil war, which has left this region’s infrastructure scarred and health system inadequate to this day, about 300 nurses and other health workers needed to be trained up and ways to bring the message about the campaign home to parents had to be found.

Lika Gamisonia, Chief Paediatric Doctor of the Gali Region:
“With the assistance from UNICEF and other non-governmental organizations we have conducted the trainings in schools and for the health professionals that are working in the villages. We also got help from our mobile operators, there were text messages sent to all the mobile phones. We also have provided them with the phone numbers that now basically serve as a hot line.”

Additionally, UNICEF provided a large number of fridges and freezers to hospitals across the region and distributed cool-boxes to health workers so that the vaccines stayed fresh as they were delivered to children, even in the remotest areas.

Izolda Dzhgarkava, Paediatric Doctor:
“There is a very positive attitude from the parents towards the vaccination. We did not have any refusals.”

Irma Shonia, Baby’s Aunt:
“We are doing all the vaccinations that are in the schedule so our daughter will be strong, beautiful and the most importantly – healthy."

All the hard work has paid off. 97 percent of children in Abkhazia have received the polio vaccine during the campaign contributing to UNICEF’s aim to eventually protect all the children in Abkhazia against any potential polio threat.

Tags

• war
• Children
• UNICEF
• Central Asia
• polio
• Georgia
• Caucuses
• Abkhazia

Directors:

• Muhamed Sacirbey, UNTV

Producers:

• Susan Sacirbey