Immunisation must be boosted in urban areas

Health experts have suggested strengthening immunisation programmes in urban areas of the country as they have lower vaccination coverage than rural areas.

According to the Coverage Evaluation Survey-2014, the rate of valid vaccination coverage for children under 23 months at national level is 81.6 percent.  The rate in Dhaka North is 74.1 percent and Dhaka South 74.2 percent. Valid vaccination is administering vaccines on time.  

Experts say these figures show the weakness of immunisation programmes in cities where the government has no health staff for this purpose, but rather depends on NGOs.

"We found invalid vaccination in Dhaka city to be quite high, which is a matter of concern," said Dr SK Roy, senior scientist and chairman of Immunization Platform of Civil Society in Bangladesh (IPCSB), a network of 17 NGOs working on immunisation in the capital.

Presenting a study on barriers of valid vaccination of 12-month old babies in Dhaka, he said mothers sometimes lose vaccination cards, do not understand hazy hand writings or forget to take the child to vaccination centres on the recommended day.

The study also found that mothers sometimes find vaccination centres closed, lack awareness or families migrate from one place to another, Dr SK Roy said at a discussion in Cirdap Auditorium in the capital.

Dr Mohammad Quamrul Islam, director of the Institute of Public Health Nutrition, said NGOs and the government together implement immunisation programmes in rural areas, but NGOs alone implement the programmes in urban areas.

Dr Habib Abdullah Sohel, director of Primary Health Care at Directorate General of Health Services, said there is no scope for complacency on immunisation as it remains a big challenge in urban Bangladesh.

Roxana Quader, additional secretary at the health ministry, suggested use of mobile phones and media for mobilization in urban areas to create more awareness.