UNICEF cholera vaccination campaign kicks off in Syria’s Al-Hol camp. UN teams carry out latest round of cholera vaccinations in northeast Syria Health
UN humanitarian workers continued their cholera vaccination campaign in Al-Hol camp in northeast Syria on Friday, despite the uncertainty that has surrounded the country since the fall of the Assad regime.
For many years, Al-Hol has been home to the wives and children of ISIS fighters, displaced persons, and refugees caught up in the Syrian war that erupted after the government’s brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters in 2011.
An outbreak of cholera was detected in the camp in early October and was later confirmed by laboratory tests. Since Al-Hol does not have a specialized treatment center for acute watery diarrhea, it is important to vaccinate as many people as possible as quickly as possible.
“Despite the extremely precarious security situation in the country, we have managed to reach people in this camp and vaccinate them,” UNICEF Health and Nutrition Officer Khurchid Hasan told UN News Service.
Dr Hasan credited the interim government in Damascus for making the vaccines available, as well as local authorities in northeastern Syria for facilitating the delivery of the supplies to the gates of al-Hol, which is controlled by the Kurdish-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.
The situation is ‘returning to normal’
Warnings were posted on social media some time ago that al-Hol was about to be attacked and that ISIS militants were planning to free their members held there families.
However, according to the UNICEF representative, the situation in the area is gradually returning to normal. At least 14,000 people have been vaccinated against cholera so far: “Vaccination teams are doing a tremendous job, providing life-saving treatment to children and their caregivers.”
Dr. Hasan emphasized that the campaign was possible after the agency successfully transported 25,000 doses of the vaccine from northwest Syria through recent lines of active fighting. He also praised the awareness-raising work of UNICEF colleagues and partners, who actively supported the cholera vaccination campaign and helped build trust among the people of Al-Hol.