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SR Watch
Science, governance and uncertainty 1 Sep 2009
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| Pampers promotes rural childhood immunization |
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| Written by Mohana |
| Monday, 14 September 2009 15:28 |
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Ma Jiajian, just 3 months old, set a new record in his family by becoming the first to be immunized against Hepatitis B within 24 hours of his birth.
He also is the first in his family to have a book containing his vaccination records. "I've never been immunized in my life," said his mother, Bai Jianhua, 35. "His two older sisters were not inoculated until they entered primary school," she said. The family is living in Puting village, located in a mountainous area of northwestern China's Qinghai province. Ma was delivered at home with the help of his grandmother. The nearest township clinic is about 20 km away at the foot of the mountains. The day after the boy's birth, Wu Xi, the village doctor, visited the family to inoculate the baby with the first dose of the Hepatitis B vaccine, as is recommended by the country's immunization program. Wu serves as the only doctor for the more than 2,000 people living in Puting village. Local authorities estimated that the immunization rate for the mountainous areas of Qinghai province is less than 50 percent. China established the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in 1978 with the goals of popularizing childhood immunization, promoting vaccination rates, reducing morbidity from relevant communicable diseases and protecting children's health. By the end of last year, the vaccination rate around the country exceeded 90 percent, thanks to the government's efforts and support from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other international health organizations. However, disparities between EPI coverage of urban and rural areas are still large, according to the Ministry of Health. To help popularize childhood vaccinations in under-developed and remote rural areas in China, Pampers, the world's leading diaper maker, is working with UNICEF to support the initiative. Pampers is a well-known brand of US-based Procter & Gamble (P&G). The company is promoting sales of special Pampers diapers with UNICEF logos in supermarkets around China through Nov 30. For every package of the special Pampers purchased by consumers, the company will donate 5 cents to UNICEF. Other retailers joined Pampers to contribute another 5 cents to 10 cents per package purchase. The money raised by the campaign will equip vaccine logistics and storage facilities and carry out public education and medical care staff training in Qinghai province, according to Rene Co, general manager of external relations for P&G Greater China. "We focus on these issues, because the problem (low immunization rates in rural areas) is not caused by a shortage of vaccines," Co said. "Logistics and storage difficulties and people's poor awareness of childhood immunization are the core obstacles," Co said. Challenges Many vaccines require cryogenic conditions for storage and transportation, but there are few refrigeration facilities in poverty-stricken areas. Some vaccines should be injected within certain periods of time. For example, babies should receive Hepatitis B vaccines within 24 hours of birth. But in remote rural areas, mothers often give birth at home, and doctors often cannot reach the families immediately after delivery. Many families also refuse vaccine injection services, since they don't know the importance of baby immunization and regard it as unnatural behavior. Pampers focused its efforts on rural areas, currently concentrating its funding support in Qinghai province. Qinghai province is a hub for many ethnic minorities, including the Hui, Sala, Tibetan, Tu and Mongolian peoples. As part of the vaccine project, refrigerators will be set up in clinics, and portable ice chests will be sent to doctors. According to village doctor Wu, the facilities will help guarantee the quality of vaccines. She added that the most serious problem is a lack of knowledge about the importance of vaccinations. That's a finding reflected by Bai. "My husband has been working in South China's Guangdong Province for more than 10 years. He only comes back during the harvest season and Spring Festival before leaving again," Bai said. "I stay at home to take care of the three children, do farm work, and raise the pigs and chickens. I didn't know that my daughters should be vaccinated until the teachers asked to check their immunization records when they entered primary school," she said. Wu, the physician, said caregivers and grandparents have refused to have children vaccinated by saying "they were never vaccinated and have been fine". Wu has been blocked from entering homes many times, she said. Co of P&G said he hopes the fundraising campaign will help promote more information campaigns in the villages. Long-term support Co declined to say how much money P&G hoped to raise for the cause from sales of Pampers. "We are always very prudent when carrying out charity programs. After the first phase, we carefully review and study and learn from our experiences about what we will do at the next step," Co said. The company has been a UNICEF partner for four years to promote childhood vaccination around the world. In other countries, the diaper brand usually donates vaccines, but not so in China. "The government has done such a good job providing vaccines, we would like to play a complementary role," Co said. The immunization project is part of the corporate social responsibility outreach of Pampers in China. The company also has supported childhood hygiene education, natural disaster relief and baby care programs. The diaper brand has fared well in its business in China. Statistics from the China National Household Paper Industry Association show that Pampers made up 31.3 percent of China's diaper market in 2008. Local Hengan's Anerler accounted for 21.7 percent, while Kimberly-Clark's Huggies had just 4.6 percent market share. However, Kimberly-Clark controlled 70 percent of the country's premium diaper market. Sourc: China Daily 14th September 2009 |
| Last Updated on Tuesday, 15 September 2009 22:20 |