Baby Iradukunda, literarly translates as God loves us, 3 day old and first born of a Burundian refugee couple in Kirehe, Eastern Rwanda was vaccinated at birth.
Beside the baby girl, over 5, 000 children of Burundian refugees aged between 0-15 years were also vaccinated upon arrival to Rwanda.
“It is very important to administer the vaccine to prevent any health outbreak with such an influx of people in the country,” says Nathan Mugume, director of health communication department in Rwanda Biomedical center.
A Burundian refugee woman and child receive aid from UNHCR workers at Gashora refugee camp. The numbers of Burundi refugees has increased to over 20,000 due to violence in their country prompting the government to start vaccinating refugee children
As per April 28, close to 21,000 Burundian refugees were received in Rwanda, according to Ministry for Refugee Affairs and Disaster Management. They are fleeing the escalating political violence ahead of June presidential elections in their country.
They cross to Rwanda through different border posts, including Akanyaru in Bugesera, East of Rwanda, then Bugarama and Kibirizi in Western and southern provinces respectively.
Rwanda has established two health posts in Nyanza and Bugesera districts, where the children get vaccinated, as country prepares to transport of the refugees to a permanent camp in Kirehe, in the far North-East of Rwanda.
Mugume says that over 1, 700 children were given oral polio vaccine, which is required to every child from 0-5 years old, to protect them with the poliovirus. Polio is also called infantile paralysis.
Other 3, 600 children aged between 9 months to 15 years were immunized with measles and rubella vaccine.
Rubella virus is spread through the air via coughs of people who are infected. Its complication may include bleeding problem and inflammation of nerves.
The vaccination program is conducted in collaboration with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the United Nations Children’s Fund.
In Rwanda, 97% children are vaccinated, according to the health ministry.
Rwanda’s child care program is improving drastically, with infant mortality declining to 50 per 1000 birth in 2010, from 85 per 1000 before 1994, according to United Nations Development Program.
Target is to decrease to 30 per a thousand births in 2020.
Meanwhile, two human deaths were reported among the fleeing Burundians. Frederic Ntawukuriryayo, in charge of Public Relations at Ministry of refugee affairs and disaster management indicates that two refugees, including a child under ten and a-27 old man died of tuberculosis.