LIMA, May 25 (NNN-ANDINA) — The Peruvian Government has approved a supreme decree to declare a health emergency due to a high risk of poliomyelitis and measles at the national level, Health Minister Rosa Gutierrez announced on Wednesday.
Moreover, she said that the goal, within the framework of this health emergency, is to vaccinate more than 2,500,000 children under 5 years of age against both diseases.
According to the government official, the regions that need to be monitored and close vaccination gaps are Amazonas, Arequipa, Lambayeque, Lima, Puno, Madre de Dios, Loreto, Moquegua, San Martin, Tacna, Tumbes, Ucayali, and Callao.
“We are working hard in this scenario so that we can hire more than 20,000 brigades with a budget of more than S/27 million (about US$7.31 million) to reach said regions and prevent more children from contracting polio,” she told a press conference at the Government Palace in Lima, after a new session of the Council of Ministers.
The high-ranking official stated that S/12 million (about US$3.25 million) of this budget is earmarked for the purchase of vaccines in order to achieve the proposed goal.
Likewise, another S/10 million (about US$2.71 million) will be used to hire the 20,000 vaccination brigades and to cover operating expenses.
“The cold chain is guaranteed and the focal point has been identified in the country’s northeast after the detection of a polio case. As a country, polio had been eradicated 32 years ago. Now we have to conduct a permanent search, map the entire territory, and, in this scenario, experts and the public health team have already reached the area,” Gutierrez said.
In this regard, the government official affirmed that the Ministry of Health (Minsa) will work hard and will inform the population about its vaccination campaigns through its website.
After pointing out that Peru has one of the best vaccination schemes in the region, Gutierrez encouraged families to bring their children to be vaccinated and to open the doors of their homes to the vaccination brigades. — NNN-ANDINA
