Media Release: UNICEF and senior Syrian officials agree on urgency of reaching more war-affected children, as UNICEF Executive Director visits Syria
DAMASCUS, 29 October 2013 – Following ‘businesslike and encouraging’ discussions, senior Syrian officials and UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake agreed on the importance of reaching hundreds of thousands of children in some of the worst-affected parts of war-torn Syria with life-saving vaccines, including those against polio, as Mr Lake ended a two-day visit to Damascus.
The need to immunize every child quickly and without obstacle was a key focus of Mr. Lake’s discussions with Syrian Prime Minister Wael Al Halqi, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Faisal Miqdad, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Hosam Eddin A’ala.
“Immunizing children is in its very nature non-political and has no connection to any military considerations,” said Mr. Lake. “With cases of polio now emerging in Syria for the first time since 1999, reaching every child with polio and other vaccinations is an urgent and critical priority not only for Syria but for the whole world.”
In a meeting with frontline volunteers from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) Mr. Lake expressed on behalf of UNICEF his admiration for all the work SARC volunteers are doing, their courage, and the sacrifices they have made in this cause.
With SARC and with national and other partners UNICEF will be working to reach the more than 500,000 children who have not been reached with vaccinations due to the conflict in some of the hardest to reach parts of the country.
vaccines and global health :: ethics and policy 