The National Committee for Vaccination Overhauls the National Vaccination Program

Mohammed Saad, coordinator of the National Committee for Vaccination in the interim Ministry of Health said that the Committee’s primary objective is to overhaul the National Vaccination Program so that it includes all children in Syria after the Assad regime stopped sending vaccines to children in the liberated areas. “The committee is currently preparing a study to identify epidemics in Syria, to determine the degree of shortages in vaccines, to map the epidemic-stricken areas, to form a team of Syrian experts, and to reach out to international organizations to secure vaccines. The committee is also monitoring and making a thorough evaluation of the National Vaccination Program. Saad pointed out that the Committee was established by 13 local and Arab non-governmental organization and by the health directorates in the areas beyond the control of the Assad regime. The founding meeting of the Committee was attended the Syrians’ custodian in Gaziantep Faisal Yilmaz, the interim Minister of Health and several of local, Arab and international organizations. A vaccination campaign against measles began last week in the liberated areas, a step that it is hoped to achieve some form of health security for Syrian children. (Source: Syrian Interim Government)