Soldiers give Iraqi children gifts on National Vaccination Day

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, June 30, 2003) -- Soldiers of the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion visited a children's' health clinic to commemorate Iraq's National Vaccination Day June 22, and presented gifts of small stuffed animals and candy to the children there.

National Vaccination Day in Iraq is not a day when all the children get vaccinated; it is just a day to emphasize the importance of immunizations, said Maj. Roger McDaniel of the 442nd Civil Affairs Battalion. The clinics here regularly give vaccinations free of charge, twice a week.

The 442nd CA assesses the needs of the clinic to help it to function properly, said Staff Sgt. Robert Laverick, also of the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion, an Army Reserve unit based in Greensboro, N.C.

One example, according to Laverick, is that the refrigeration system at the Fakhir El Din Al Jamil clinic is unreliable because of the frequent power failures in Baghdad's electrical grid.

The vaccination medicines are kept under refrigeration at a local hospital, which has a generator for electrical backup, so not to risk spoiling at the clinic, he said.

Clinic employees also drive to and from the hospital through heavy traffic each session day to transport the medicine. While there are delays and glitches, the clinic perseveres, said Laverick.

The clinic runs its immunization program twice a week and has missed only two sessions since the main parts of the fighting ended in late April, said Dr. Nada (first name withheld at her request), head of Fakhir El Din Al Jamil children's clinic, prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom,

The clinic practices preventive action against various diseases such as measles, mumps, tuberculosis, hepititus, tetanus, and typhoid, especially due to circumstances after the war, when there was no running water and no electricity in parts of Baghdad and in other parts of Iraq.

"People need hygienic education, especially now," Nada said.

However, only about 30 to 50 children are brought to the twice-a-week sessions at the clinic in Baghdad, the doctor said.

Because of the present circumstances, such as mass unemployment and lack of an Iraqi government, not enough people are visiting the clinic for treatment or education. But, Nada said, when things are back to normal again, she is confident more people will frequent the clinic.

Hygienic education and classes are very important for Iraq, she said. The clinic provides classes for parents and their children in addition to the vaccinations. According to Nada, classes should also air on television and radio in Iraq, emphasizing how imperative it is that good hygiene be practiced to avoid disease outbreaks.

(Editor's note: Spc. Anthony K. Reinoso is a journalist with the 372nd MPAD in Iraq.)