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Friday, November 02, 2007

US ambassador to RI promotes childhood immunization


Jakarta (ANTARA News) - United States Ambassador to Indonesia Cameron Hume emphasized the importance of childhood immunizations during the Ministry of Health`s National Child Immunization event at Menteng Park here on Monday, a US Embassy press release has said.

It said the U.S. Government`s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) provided a US$20 million grant to the Indonesian Ministry of Health`s Expanded Program for Immunization (EPI).

The grant is an effort to help protect Indonesia`s children against vaccine-preventable diseases, such as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough) and measles.

"Alleviating preventable childhood diseases is one of the most fundamental ways in which we can all be good ancestors. Every child has the right to proper and timely childhood immunization," the US envoy said at the National Child Immunization event.

"Today we celebrate the Government of Indonesia`s goal to immunize as many children as possible against the most deadly diseases of early childhood," Hume added.

The Ministry of Health`s EPI program aims to provide routine immunization services to protect Indonesia`s children against vaccine-preventable diseases.

Support for the EPI comes from the MCC`s Indonesia Immunization Project, which is administered by USAID. The two-year grant provides assistance at both the central level and to seven priority provinces in Indonesia, including 63 priority districts within these provinces.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation is assisting the Indonesian Ministry of Health in developing revised national immunization strategies for routine services and building capacity of the immunization health staff in both public and private sectors.

Among the goals of the Millennium Challenge Corporation Threshold Program is assistance to the Government of Indonesia to improve child immunization nationwide.

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