The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) concluded two Grant Agreements (G/A) with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on February 28, 2012, for a total of up to 3 billion yen.
The following two grant aid projects have been awarded.
(1) Pediatric Infectious Disease Prevention Program (UNICEF collaboration) (2.5 billion yen)
(2) Secondary School Water and Sanitation Improvement Plan (UNICEF collaboration) (500 million yen)
Details of each project are as follows
(1) The Project for Infectious Diseases Prevention for Children (in collaboration with UNICEF)
Purpose and Outline of the Project
The people of Afghanistan are facing unprecedented economic and humanitarian crises, including poverty and shortages of food and medicine, since the situation changed in August 2021, and support from the international community is essential.
One of the most pressing issues is the high number of children dying from preventable diseases such as polio and tuberculosis. This is due to inadequate vaccination against preventable diseases because of the unstable security situation, as well as a lack of medicines and medical materials and equipment, including vaccines, and a lack of awareness of the need for vaccination.
This project will support the procurement and quality control of vaccines required for routine immunization against various infectious diseases and polio vaccination campaigns, as well as awareness-raising activities for the population, thereby contributing to the steady implementation of vaccination activities and reducing the incidence of infectious diseases among children and women. The project will further extend the effects of the Childhood Infectious Disease Prevention Plan (in collaboration with UNICEF) and the Health System Strengthening through Cold Chain Equipment Improvement Plan (in collaboration with UNICEF), which were decided to be implemented in May and October 2022.
The project will provide polio, tuberculosis, and measles vaccines to approximately 1.5 million Afghan infants under the age of one year, hepatitis B vaccine to approximately 670,000, pentavirus vaccine to approximately 360,000, pneumococcal vaccine to approximately 90,000, and rotavirus vaccine to approximately 140,000. In addition, tetanus and diphtheria vaccines will be made available to approximately 3.33 million women of childbearing age, which is expected to contribute to improving the health status of children and women of childbearing age throughout Afghanistan and contribute to SDG Goal 3 (health and well-being for all).
Afghanistan is one of only two remaining countries in the world* where polio is endemic, but the number of reported cases of wild polio will be reduced to two by 2022, and efforts toward polio eradication are steadily underway. This project will support the international community’s efforts to eradicate polio by helping approximately 9.5 million children under the age of five to be vaccinated against polio.
(Note: As of February 2023, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The details of the project are as follows
© Source JICA