King Hassan calls on Moroccans to vaccinate children against killer diseases
King Hassan II called Tuesday all Moroccan parents to immunize their children against the six killer diseases (tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, diphtheria, measles and whooping cough).
In a message on the occasion of the National Vaccination Days launched in Morocco this Wednesday, the king said "in similar circumstances, twelve years ago, we have given our instructions to the government to organize nation-wide vaccination days to immunize our children under five against killer diseases and protect women in procreation age against tetanus.
The royal message, which was read out by Mohamed Moatassim, Charge D'affaires at the Royal Office, said that the holding of these annual days has enabled Morocco to make an outstanding progress in matters of vaccination as almost all the targeted population was covered by the immunization campaigns.
The Moroccan sovereign hailed the success made by these days which contributed to eradicating some diseases that were considered as the major child death causes.
After renewing Morocco's determination to carry on efforts to enhance children protection against killer diseases, the sovereign said that he ordered the health department to introduce as of this year the vaccine against Hepatitis-B in the immunization campaign.
Every year Morocco organizes National Vaccination Days, part of a long term strategy to protect mothers and children from killer diseases which are regressing year after year.
Moroccan health officials expect this year some 2.3 million children under five to receive oral polio vaccines and about one million women in procreation age to be vaccinated against tetanus.
They also say that these campaigns will be carried on until poliomyelitis, tetanus and measles are completely eradicated by 2000.
Morocco decided this year to include Hepatitis-B Vaccine in immunization campaign as "HB" cases soared to alarming levels. Moroccan official health sources say between 780,000 and 1.3 Million Moroccans are carrying the deadly HB virus.
The same source also said that among 600,000 newborns, between 18,000 and 30,000 will contract the virus while some 4,500 others will develop liver cancer.