On Helen Keller's Birthday, HKI launches an Integrated Child Survival Campaign in Guinea

Conakry, Guinea, June 27, 2007 – Helen Keller International (HKI), in collaboration with UNICEF and the Ministry of Public Health, launched Guinea’s first bi-annual integrated child survival campaign for 2007 in the capital of Conakry. During the campaign, almost 2 million children under five years of age will be given life-saving vaccinations, vitamin A supplements and deworming medication. This is Guinea’s third integrated child survival campaign; the first was in 2006 when mebendazole (an anti-parasitic medicine) and vitamin A were formally added to all vaccination outreach programs. Mass vitamin A distribution began in 1999, and was coupled with vaccination campaigns to deliver two health interventions simultaneously – and more efficiently.

The launch of the integrated child survival campaign coincided with the Month of the African Child and was attended by the First Lady, the Honorable Mme Henriette Conté, the Ministers of Justice and Social Affairs, and the wife of Prime Minister Lansana Kouyaté. Representatives from UNICEF, the Government of Canada, and WHO also attended the event, which was hosted by the Mayor of the Commune of Matam in Conakry. Funding for the campaign was provided by the Government of Canada through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the GAVI Alliance (formerly known as the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation.)

Micronutrient deficiencies, including deficiencies in iron, and vitamin A, result in increased maternal and child mortality, impaired cognitive and immune system development, and blindness. According to the National Demographic Health Survey conducted in 2005, 77% of children under the age of five, 53% of women of childbearing age, and 69% of pregnant women in Guinea suffer from iron-deficiency anemia, largely as a result of poor eating habits, malaria and worm infestations. The prevalence of vitamin A deficiency in the country is 25%. Vitamin A supplementation and deworming have proven to be a cost-effective means to improve the micronutrient status of Guinea’s most vulnerable population – pregnant women and children under five.

In addition to launching the integrated child survival campaign, the national vaccination program unveiled its new logo, and presented a radio jingle designed to encourage people to participate in vaccination programs was broadcast during the event. If the dancing and singing of attending school children were any indication, the new jingle will be very successful!