WHO and UNICEF support the Government’s vaccination efforts and reach nearly 500 previously unvaccinated children in Gobustan, Yevlakh, Mingachevir and Goygol 

With the financial support of the European Union, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF have organized a series of educational events in 4 districts with low vaccination coverage, during the European Immunization Week on April 24 to 29. As part of the campaign, nearly 150 pediatricians and vaccinators were trained on the current vaccines and parent conferences were held to talk about vaccines with approximately 500 vaccine-hesitant parents. 

The activities were carried out by WHO and UNICEF in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Azerbaijan (MoH), the State Agency on Mandatory Health Insurance (SAMHI), and the Administration of Regional Medical Divisions (TABIB) under the motto “Timing matters! Every Dose Counts.” 

Parent Conferences took place in Gobustan, Yevlakh, Mingachevir, and Goygol districts which have low vaccination coverages. Several children received "catch-up" vaccinations for missed shots after Dr Nigar Bayramova, Associate Professor at Azerbaijan Medical University and an expert of MoH, and Ayten Ziyadova, an infectious disease pediatrician  informed parents about the importance of timely vaccinations. 

Furthermore, Dr. Bayramova and Dr. Ziyadova trained approximately 150 pediatricians and vaccine providers in those regions on best practice guidelines for routine immunization. 

Dr.Hande Harmanci, WHO Representative and Head of Office in Azerbaijan, and Dr. Vasif Aliyev, the Director of the Goygol District Central Hospital attended the event organized in Goygol region during Immunization Week. "We appreciate the special effort made by WHO to conduct immunization campaigns in all vaccination centers, including the most remote villages in Goygol. I hope that this campaign will result in an increase in vaccination coverage in our region. The conversation with the parents and giving them informative materials were especially useful because I know that many misconceptions are now dispelled," said Dr. Aliyev. 

“We as parents always want to do our best to protect our children. Vaccinating our children on time and with all the necessary vaccines is the best thing we can do to protect our children. I hope that this campaign helps convey this message to all families. We will continue to advocate for the most important life-saving intervention of our times, which are vaccines, in collaboration with all our partners.” Dr Harmanci added. 

Throughout the campaign, printed informative materials on vaccine-preventable diseases and routine immunization have been disseminated to all vaccination stations in the mentioned regions in order to raise public awareness. 

The EU-funded COVID-19 Vaccination Support project implemented by WHO Azerbaijan Country Office since June 2021 covers three years and aims to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen the routine immunization programs in the country. The project is part of the continued support of the EU and WHO to Azerbaijan.