VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Illustration: Medical worker using protective equipment while administering vaccine to a toddler in Karawaci Public Health Center, Tangerang City, Banten, Wednesday, May 13, 2020. (ANTARA/FAUZAN/my) - 

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin encouraged all female regional leaders to administer basic immunization packages for children in 2022.

"(This is) because the immunizations are mostly intended for children, who mostly are dear to a mother," Sadikin remarked while he delivered a press statement during a virtual event, as accessed from the Health Ministry's YouTube account from here on Friday.

The Health Ministry had set Bangka Belitung as a location for commemoration of the 2022 World Immunization Day, given the region's relatively high immunization rate.

The ministry had set a target of 22.5 percent for coverage of the basic immunization package in the first trimester of 2022. However, it was only capped at 14 percent at the time.

Bangka Belitung was one of the six places in Indonesia that exceeded the ministry's target in terms of basic immunization. Hence, Bangka Belitung was expected to motivate other regions to pursue the target.

He deemed the regional government's proactive participation as important in achieving the goal.

"If the regional government fully supports the basic immunization, then the targeted rate supposedly can be achieved," Sadikin noted.

Minister Sadikin opined that female leader figures could be expected to put in efforts to achieve the immunization target.

On the other hand, National Children Immunization Month would begin in May 2022 as a means to catch up with immunizations that were supposed to take place but were hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the program, two main events scheduled were measles and rubella vaccinations and basic immunizations for toddlers, who had yet to receive the complete basic immunization pack.

The program targets as many as 800 thousand children all over Indonesia who are at risk of contracting diseases, such as diphtheria, tetanus, measles, rubella, and polio, that could be prevented through vaccines.

The first phase of the National Children Immunization Month will be held in May 2022 in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, and Papua, while the second phase would follow on August 2022 in Java and Bali//ANT