Bishkek, Apr. 25, 2019/ Kabar /. The Ministry of Health, with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), is holding European Immunization Week 2019 (EIW) in Kyrgyzstan, head of the public health department of the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic Ainura Akmatova told at Kabar Agency.

The main goal of ENI 2019 is to promote the use of vaccines to prevent and protect against dangerous infectious diseases among people of all ages under the slogan # Vaccines Act. Immunization week will be held in all regions of the country, she said.

“The Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic defines the Immunization Program as one of the priority public health programs and is making every effort to ensure fair and sustainable access to high-quality immunization services for the population. The ministry is also working to raise the level of awareness of the right and need of each child to be protected against controlled infections, while focusing on vulnerable and high-risk groups,” said Akmatova.

Due to the geographical features and inaccessibility of some localities, there are difficulties with timely vaccination of children in Kyrgyzstan. According to data of the Republican Center for Immunoprophylactics, the cases of refusal to vaccinate has been increasing because of religious beliefs, which makes 68%, and 19% refuse because of the quality and safety of medical procedures for vaccines, said Akmatova.