Editorial: DAWN - 14 March 2015 (Vaccines’ wastage)
Vaccines’ wastage THE difficulties faced by the country in vaccinating every single child against polio are widely known and place a formidable question mark over the health of new generations. Less talked about, though, is the fact that the deficiencies of the health sector in terms of protecting children against preventable diseases are myriad, and so deeply entrenched as to make a change of course appear difficult. If at one end of the spectrum there is the problem of the slowdown in the rates of routine immunisation, at the other are the glaring gaps in supply, storage and oversight, which may cumulatively negate what little success the country does manage to achieve in this area. The latter point was underscored by the news that came to light a few days ago that a large consignment of the pentavalent vaccine, worth some $1.3m, that was being stored on the premises of the National Health Services Ministry had spoiled because the required temperature had not been maint