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Happy New Year: the Government of Japan donates US$2.5million
UNICEF-Zimbabwe
January 12, 2006

HARARE – In a bold bid to arrest Zimbabwe’s climbing rates of child mortality, the Japanese Government today donated US$2.5m million to UNICEF to fight childhood illnesses and prevent malaria across Zimbabwe.

The Japanese contribution comes as Zimbabwe attempts to roll back resurfacing malaria and as a vital boost to the country's expanded programme on immunisation to fight against the seven vaccine preventable diseases in children.

"Two million Zimbabwean children and women will feel the benefits of these Japanese funds in 2006," said UNICEF’s Representative in Zimbabwe, Dr Festo Kavishe. "Zimbabwe’s health system is under real stress, and so we must all find ways to ensure malaria and vaccine preventable diseases do not take the lives of ever more Zimbabwean children. These funds are an enormous boost to this effort."

Half of all Zimbabweans live in malarial areas, and malaria is the second highest killer of children in Zimbabwe. And yet only about 20 percent of children (under five years) sleep under treated nets.

The funds will also support the Zimbabwe Expanded Programme on Immunisation (ZEPI), which will receive 50% of its vaccine needs from the grant donated by the Japanese Government. Zimbabwe was the first African country to achieve vaccination independence (in 1996); however an array of factors saw that coverage for children deteriorating in 2000-2002. However through UNICEF support, ZEPI has been able to increase its immunization coverage back to its 1996 levels. The Japanese funds will ensure to keep the immunization coverage high for 2006.

"Immunization is crucial for the survival of children," said UNICEF’s Dr Kavishe. "It is a typically generous act of the Government of Japan to meet 50% of ZEPI’s needs, and is just the sort of news Zimbabwean parents want to hear as they begin 2006."

The support from the Government of Japan will also ensure that Zimbabwe’s coverage of bednets to ward off malaria increases by 39%, thus in reach of the globally accepted Abuja Summit target of 60% of the population of pregnant women and under five children.

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