Otgoo and her daughter Munkh-Undral outside the “Ulziit
Manal” family health center. A banner for the SIA campaign is hanging in the
back.
©UNICEF Mongolia/2016/Enkhzul Altangerel
|
It was 11
o’clock in the morning at the “Ulziit Manal” family health center of the
Songinokhairkhan district. An unusual site for a small family health center
greeted us, a hall filled with crowd, as dozens of young people in their 20’s
were lined up to get vaccinated against measles. 30 year-old Otgonbayar (Otgoo)
was one of them.
Otgoo
is a nomadic herder, and she lives with her husband in the Bayantsagaan village
of Tuv province in central Mongolia. The couple has a 9 year-old daughter Munkh-Undral,
who goes to school in Ulaanbaatar.
Few
days ago, when the nationwide measles Supplementary Immunization Activity (SIA)
campaign started, Otgoo received a call from her village health center doctor,
as well as an SMS from the Ministry of Health and Sports that she need to be
vaccinated