177 children in Nepalgunj found unimmunised

By Siraj Khan,Nepalgunj, May 14: Nepalgunj is one of the most developed cities in the three provinces of western Nepal. However, 177 children there were found unvaccinated with essential vaccines.

The Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City had started a search for unimmunised children which resulted in 177 such children being found. 

“While there were 177 children who did not receive any vaccination, there were 692 children in Nepalgunj who stopped getting vaccinated in the middle due to different reasons,” said Naresh Shrestha, focal person for immunisation in Banke Health Office.

“We sent health volunteers to every household to identify unimmunised children. We now plan to start vaccinating the children on Sunday,” said Ram Bahadur Chand, chief of Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City’s Health Division.

The sub-metropolis now also plans to keep track of the children in its area and make sure that they get vaccinated as per the schedule.

“The vaccinations are essential to ensure a healthy life for the children. We will make sure they do not miss their jabs from now onwards,” said Kamaruddin Rai, deputy mayor of Nepalgunj.

Nepal’s national immunisation schedule requires children under five years to receive vaccines such as Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG), Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV), Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV), Measles-Rubella (MR) and Japanese Encephalitis (JE) among others.

Nepalgunj runs an immunisation campaign from 6 to 11 of every Nepali month where nine vaccines against 13 illnesses are administered.