EU and UNICEF make donations as support for immunization in Montenegro
PODGORICA, 26 July 2021 – With support from international organizations such as UNICEF and the EU, the Ministry of Health will be able to intensify ongoing activities aimed at ending the pandemic and increasing childhood immunization rates.
“The fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has turned into a marathon where no one can win on their own. The solidarity and assistance provided by international organizations represent a great incentive for us to endure and leave the pandemic behind us. Vaccines are our ticket to a healthy and secure future, so I am calling on citizens, especially young people, to get vaccinated and be part of the solution that will take us back to our old habits and normal life".
Through the EU-funded project, another €1.12 million has been provided to support the government’s efforts in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthening the routine immunization services.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, but now we have effective tools to fight it. I urge everyone in Montenegro to get vaccinated so that we can beat this and other diseases together with the help of vaccines".
UNICEF will donate 9,600 PCR COVID-19 tests to the Institute for Public Health. In addition, UNICEF will donate various vaccine refrigerators and other equipment needed to ensure that vaccines are adequately stored all over the country, as well as 300,000 syringes and needles to support the immunization efforts.
“Vaccines save lives. We want to support Montenegro to save as many lives as possible by ending the pandemic through vaccination and respect for the #DistanceHandsMask measures, as well as by preventing outbreaks of preventable and severe diseases through regular childhood immunization".
Vaccines are among the greatest achievements of modern medicine. From the end of the 18th century until today, they have been preventing outbreaks of numerous infectious diseases and have saved billions of lives. It is estimated that the measles vaccine alone has saved around 23 million children’s lives since 2000.
Smallpox, which killed 300 million people during the 20th century alone, was successfully eradicated in 1979 thanks to the introduction of a safe and effective vaccine.
Polio – a dangerous disease that has killed millions and paralysed or disabled millions – is now, thanks to vaccines, a dangerous endemic disease in only two countries – Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Mother and newborn tetanus, which is fatal to newborns, has, thanks to immunization that was completed in July 2019, been almost completely eliminated worldwide, remaining in only 12 countries.