Despite efforts, Rohingyas remain vulnerable in Bangladesh: WHO
New Delhi, Aug 24: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday expressed concern over the health condition of Rohingya refugees living in Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh and said a severe fund crunch has threatened continuation of health services in the refugee camps.
The Bangladesh government, WHO and other health agencies have worked to save thousands of Rohingya lives and prevented the spread of deadly diseases among nearly one million refugees, said WHO in a statement.
"Despite these efforts, Rohingyas remain vulnerable with their evolving health needs, and a severe funding crunch is threatening continuity of life saving health services in their camps" said the organisation.
The persecution by Myanmar's security forces triggered the arrival of nearly 7,00,000 Rohingyas into Bangladesh beginning August 25, 2017.
WHO termed this arrival was one of the largest ever population influxes over a short span of time.
"Women, children and the elderly arrived with injuries, low immunization coverage, high rates of malnutrition, in need of reproductive health care and psycho-social support, and at risk of deadly disease outbreaks" said WHO.
Explaining the challenges, WHO, said 70 per cent of births still takes place outside health facilities as Rohingya population was reluctant to access sexual and reproductive health services.
WHO's Deputy Director- General for Emergency Preparedness, Peter Salama said "we have done things that collectively we can be proud of. However, we need to continue to support the health needs of this vulnerable population and remain vigilant against the spread of diseases."
"This is still a very fragile situation," said Dr Peter, who visited the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
