Eleven out of 100 children are not vaccinated in Benin
Cotonou, Benin (PANA) - Eleven out of 100 children are not vaccinated in Benin, according to the results of the Fifth demographic and health survey released by the national institute of statistics and economic analysis.
"In Benin, 57 percent of children aged between 12 to 23 months received all basic vaccines. On the other hand, 11 percent of children have not received any vaccine", said the report copied to PANA. It said the survey examined, among other things, the state of the country's vaccination coverage.
Basic vaccines for children aged between 12-23 months include: 1 dose of BCG, 3 doses of DTC-HepBHib, 3 doses of oral polio vaccine and 1 dose of measles vaccine.
Taking stock by department, the survey indicated that basic vaccination coverage ranged from 29 percent in the southeast Plateau to 71 percent in the northwest departments of Atacora, southwest Mono and southeast Ouémé.
Vaccination coverage has increased since 2006 when 47 percent of children received all basic vaccines.
Benin has a summary document of the state of play of the Expanded vaccination Programme (PEV), a roadmap setting out the broad guidelines of the PEV-Benin for the five-year period 2019-2023 and a joint declaration engaging stakeholders on the resumption and funding of vaccination.
The Expanded Vaccination Programme is a centrepiece of health prevention, which has served since 1987 as the central pillar of primary health care.
Global initiatives and vaccination campaigns have enabled Benin to halt transmission of indigenous wild poliovirus, eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus and significantly reduced morbidity and mortality associated with measles.
-0- PANA IT/JSG/BBA/AR 18June2019
