Funding and “public hesitancy” key challenges for continuing successful immunisation program
06 Feb 2013, 12:53 PM
Neil Merrett
Some 95 percent of the target population of the Maldives’ national inoculation program have received their recommended vaccinations, despite declining state funding for such initiatives and growing public reticence, health authorities have said.
While ongoing commitments by Maldives authorities to protect the public against preventable diseases were praised this month by international experts, sources within the Ministry of Health have said maintaining high immunisation coverage across the country remains challenging.
Aishath Thimna Latheef, Public Health Program Manager for the Expanded Program on Immunisation (EPI) at the Ministry of Health told Minivan News that a lack of funding for additional training and supervision were among crucial challenges facing national inoculation efforts.
Other issues included a growing number of parents opting against having their children inoculated, and need for improved coordination with private schools.
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