Childhood is the most important stage to receive immunization to prevent disease, an official from the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture, Agus Suprapto, has said.
“Childhood is the most important period for us to protect together,” he remarked during a webinar on “Children Immunization, Protected Children for Healthy Indonesia” on Friday.
Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a relaxation in health services, which has led to a decline in immunization as well as children’s protection from various diseases.
Moreover, in the past two years, there has been a decline in complete basic immunization coverage by 9.5 percent, meaning that 1.6 million infants have not received immunization.
The impact of this decline in coverage could be seen at the start of 2022, with incidents of measles and rubella increasing by more than 15-fold compared to in 2021.
Therefore, the government has organized National Child Immunization Month (BIAN) to boost children’s immunization. The first stage of BIAN started on May 22, 2022, while the second stage is scheduled for August.
If the decline in immunization coverage continues, there will be an increase in extraordinary events and diseases as well as the re-emergence of diseases such as diphtheria, measles, rubella, and hepatitis.
Therefore, the ministry has urged parents to utilize BIAN to get their children inoculated at the nearest health service facilities and immunization service posts.
During the webinar, Suprapto also highlighted that collaboration among institutions is key to making BIAN a success.
The institutions include the Education, Research, Culture, and Technology Ministry, Religious Affairs Ministry, Home Affairs Ministry, Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry, Health Ministry, Communication and Information Ministry, and Cabinet Secretariat.
Source: Antara News