CHILD SURVIVAL
PREVENTABLE ILLNESSES THREATEN CHILDREN IN KIRIBATI In the past five years, the remote Pacific nation of Kiribati has experienced repeated diarrhoea outbreaks, leading to the hospitalisation and even death of children under five. The most common cause of severe, dehydrating diarrhoea among infants and young children around the world is rotavirus. In 2015, UNICEF supported the Government of Kiribati to introduce a vaccine for rotavirus, vaccinating all newborn children when they reach six weeks. It is one of the first countries in the Pacific to introduce the rotavirus vaccine and integrate it into routine immunisation programs country-wide. Mother of three, Bwebwenraoi knows how important the vaccine is. She sits in the ‘waiting room,’ a wooden bench outside the simple brick clinic in Kiribati’s Temaiku village, cradling her newborn son. “I came to get the rotavirus vaccination for Tapiang as he is six weeks old now,” she says. Her one-year-old son Uriam is currently in hospital with diarrhoea, the same illness this vaccine will help to prevent. In addition to the rotavirus vaccine, nearly 90 per cent of child deaths due to diarrhoea can be prevented with simple solutions. Breastfeeding provides vitamins and nutrients that help infants to avoid diarrhoeal disease and recover more quickly. Good sanitation and hygiene practices introduce low-cost and highly effective ways to protect children from diarrhoea.
In 2015, UNICEF Australia contributed $248,449 to roll out the rotavirus vaccination program nationwide in Kiribati. UNICEF Australia | 17