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The Peruvian Government declared a health emergency due to a high risk of poliomyelitis and measles at the national level, Health Minister Rosa Gutierrez announced on last Wednesday.

Image/Robert Herriman

Furthermore, the minister underscored that the goal, within the framework of this health emergency, is to vaccinate more than 2,500,000 children under 5 years of age against both diseases.

According to the government official, the regions that need to be monitored and close vaccination gaps are Amazonas, Arequipa, Lambayeque, Lima, Puno, Madre de Dios, Loreto, Moquegua, San Martin, Tacna, Tumbes, Ucayali, and Callao.

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“We are working hard in this scenario so that we can hire more than 20,000 brigades with a budget of more than S/27 million (about US$7.31 million) to reach regions and prevent more children from contracting polio,” she stressed .

The high-ranking official stated that S/12 million (about US$3.25 million) of this budget is earmarked for the purchase of vaccines in order to achieve the proposed goal. 
Likewise, another S/10 million (about US$2.71 million) will be used to hire the 20,000 vaccination brigades and to cover operating expenses.
“The cold chain is guaranteed and the focal point has been identified in the country’s northeast after the detection of a polio case. As a country, polio had been eradicated 32 years ago. Now we have to conduct a permanent search, map the entire territory , and, in this scenario, experts and the public health team have already reached the area,” Gutierrez said.
In this regard, the government official affirmed that the Ministry of Health (Minsa) will work hard and will inform the population about its vaccination campaigns through its website.