Ukraine at risk of Polio outbreak due to government's negligence.

[another_liberal]

Last edited Wed Sep 10, 2014, 06:59 AM - Edit history (1)

Ukrainian President Poroshenko has been so single-mindedly pursuing his "anti-terrorism operation" to crush Separatists in the Donbas region that, according to the World Health Organization, he has allowed Ukraine's stockpile of critical vaccines to go empty. I'm sure being a "War President" must seem very sexy and ego-inflating to a former chocolate merchant, but a polio epidemic among unvaccinated Ukrainian children would be much less so for him.

Empty anti polio vaccine dispensers are seen in a medical tray. (AFP)


Polio epidemic fears as Ukraine’s vaccine stockpiles dry up

Ukraine may face epidemics of preventable diseases like polio due to a government failure to stockpile vaccines and organize inoculation, the UN’s health body warned. The shortage is aggravated by devaluation and a planned ban on Russian drugs. The healthcare system of Ukraine was not in good shape to start with, and the political crisis and the subsequent civil war further damaged it, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday. Now with the government failing to procure necessary vaccines, Ukraine may experience outbreaks of diseases usually associated with undeveloped African and Asian counties.

"Ukraine has no vaccines... They don't have any vaccines in their storage," Dr. Dorit Nitzan, who heads the WHO's country office in Ukraine, told reporters in Geneva. She added that even now many hospitals in Ukraine have no vaccine stockpiles. “If you go to some leading medical centers in Kiev you may find some, but there are no stockpiles to meet the demand of the entire healthcare system,” she said, adding that in a month there may be no vaccines left whatsoever.

Ukraine needs drugs for measles, tetanus, mumps and diphtheria. But of particular concern for WHO is the potential outbreak of poliomyelitis, a debilitating viral infection mostly hitting young children that "usually comes in countries in turmoil," Nitzan said. Less than half of Ukrainian children had been vaccinated for polio before the violence in the country escalated in April, and WHO fears that a polio epidemic may start for the first time in three decades, she added.

An intervention by foreign nations and international organizations would be required to stop such an outbreak would be needed the official said. Nitzan reiterated the WHO’s plea to international donors to fund the organization’s operations in Ukraine. Back in mid-August it had appealed for extra $14 million, but has so far received just $40,000, Nitzan said.

(snip)

Read more at: http://rt.com/news/186552-ukraine-polio-epidemic-vaccines/

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. And they were saying that before the Euromaidan demonstrations started

Ukraine at risk of polio outbreak, says WHO Fri Nov 15, 2013
Ukraine kids at risk from low vaccination rates Jun. 18, 2013

[another_liberal]

2. The long-term nature of the problem was mentioned in the quoted article . . .

Last edited Wed Sep 10, 2014, 08:11 AM - Edit history (1)

It only makes the situation even more reprehensible. Poroshenko took office with an already serious shortage in badly needed vaccines, and he has done nothing about it.

Of course, one should also mention the billions in financial aid and military supplies the West has given his government. Too bad we were so hot on starting a proxy war against Russia we forgot to include a few million dollars worth of vaccines for Ukrainian children.

[muriel_volestrangler]

31. If Russia hadn't invaded - first Crimea, and then eastern Ukraine - fixing problems would be easier

[davidpdx]

8. Well that doesn't seem to stop some from continuing to smear Ukraine

[Nuclear Unicorn]

3. Sounds like a good reason for Russia to cease its imperialist aggression and leave Ukraine

to tend to its own affairs.

[another_liberal]

4. Damn it! I forgot again . . .

Everything wrong, bad, or ugly which happens in Poroshenko's Ukraine is Russia's fault, right? It's all because of the "Russian Invasion," concerning which no independently verifiable evidence has ever been offered. That's the logic at work, correct?

When the chocolate king makes war on his own people, it's Russia's fault; when volunteer fascist battalions are armed, organized and equipped at Western expense, it's Russia's fault; when Ukrainian rocket artillery shells hospitals, schools and playgrounds in the Donbas, it's Russia's fault; when Kiev's ill-advised "anti-terrorism operation" stalls and is then thrown back by the Separatist forces, it's Russia's fault; when Ukrainian children are left unvaccinated and vulnerable to polio and other preventable diseases, that's Russia's fault as well. That's the story line, right?

Seems like it's just a one-answer-fits-all World, at least it would appear to be for some.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

17. "When the chocolate king makes war on his own people, it's Russia's fault..."

Yes, it is. Russia has terrorized Ukraine for so long the Ukrainians wanted to get as far away from them as possible and re-align themselves but geopolitical wife-beater Putin sez, "Bitches better recognize!"

And spare us the anti-fascist schtick because Putin loves fascist when they work for him. He's no liberator. He's a malicious piece of homophobic shit and you know it and you embrace it. You're hate-apologia isn't fooling anyone.

[another_liberal]

21. Maybe some Ukrainians resent and fear Russia.

But nothing like all or even a majority of Ukrainians are Russophobic, especially so in the Donbas regions. And I doubt if Kiev's banning of all Russian language radio and television broadcasts (in violation of international law) will change their minds either.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

39. "Russophobic" It'd be funny if you weren't such a

sniveling hypocritical apologist for a homophobic murderer.

[SidDithers]

50. +1...nt

Sid

[cali]

24. ack. reflect on your post. you accuse others of just what you do.

constantly. you accuse Ukraine of every evil under the sun and though you hilariously and transparently deny it, you defend Putin's moves no matter what.

it's so cute.

[another_liberal]

27. That may be your opinion . . .

Nevertheless, President Putin is not the topic of this OP. Please stop your intentional disruption of this comment string.

[HERVEPA]

34. Please stop your Putinista propoganda immediately.

Hey, if you can tell the previous poster what to do, I guess i can tell you what to do, right?

[another_liberal]

40. The W.H.O. is porpagandizing for Putin?

It is the World Health Organization which is quoted here. Is that who you want to claim is spreading propaganda?

[HERVEPA]

43. In case you forgot, you linked and quoted from a "RT" article

Just as reliable as Izvestia and Pravda were.

[LanternWaste]

56. More accurately, that's an opinion of you many currently hold.

"That may be your opinion..."

More accurately, that's an opinion of you many currently hold.

[LanternWaste]

55. Odd that you would hold others to a higher standard than you hold yourself to

"Everything wrong, bad, or ugly which happens in Poroshenko's Ukraine is Russia's fault, right?"
The corollary accurately applies to you. Odd that you would hold others to a higher standard than you hold yourself to... but then again, justifying Novorossiya's anschluss requires that type of situation and convenient ethics...


"Seems like it's just a one-answer-fits-all World..."
When that answer appears in the Russian Times, why yes indeed, your replies more often than not are in fact, one-answer-fits-all.

[SidDithers]

5. ... according to RT...

Sid

[another_liberal]

6. Please try and make your replies on the topic of the OP . . .

This is a serious OP, concerning a serious topic.

If you wish to indulge in pointless attacks against RT News, please start your own OP on that topic. Thanks.

[SidDithers]

9. No...nt

Sid

[snooper2]

16. LOL

[Blue_Tires]

12. It's still a shit source, and you damn well know that, tough guy...

In all seriousness: Do you work for RT?

[another_liberal]

25. Oh yeah, sure I do . . .

Not only that: President Putin has dinner with me twice a week. He flies me to Moscow and back in his private jet every Tuesday and Saturday. We can sometimes be seen walking together in the twilight, as we go to leave one perfect red rose on Stalin's grave. Are you happy now?



I really had thought those posting on these boards were more or less rational adults. Live and learn.

[FSogol]

20. Serious OP or serious propoganda?

Tough call: or

[another_liberal]

26. Please return to the OP topic . . .

Or find another comment string which better suits your needs. Thanks.

[FSogol]

30. Please don't tell me what to do while I laugh at feeble propagandizing.

Thanks!

[another_liberal]

41. Didn't you even bother to read the OP?

It is the World Health Organization you are accusing of "propagandizing," not me. Are they just more "Putinistas" in your view?

[FSogol]

45. If you really cared what WHO thought, you might notice that health conditions are deteriorating

because of fighting by Pro-Russian insurgents and the Ukrainians.

http://www.who.int/hac/donorinfo/donoralert_ukraine_15aug.pdf?ua=1

Just keep lapping up the pap fed to you by RT while everyone here laughs at you.

[another_liberal]

51. Ukraine's coup government began hostilities in the east . . .

The Separatists had not even armed themselves at the time. Porsoshenko has continued and intensified those hostilities, which have all taken place in the Donbas, not further west. The fighting would have stopped anytime Kiev ordered it's troops to stand down; in fact, it has stopped now that they have finially given such an order.

[FSogol]

53. "Blah, blah, blah, blah....*

* Insert RT nonsense here." - another_putinista

[The Magistrate]

54. I Doubt Even You Actually Believe That Is True, Sir

Hostilities began when town halls and police stations were seized by armed men declaring their intention to secede from Ukraine. This commenced weeks before the first tentative moves east by Ukrainian armed forces.

But then, you believe this:

"It is a personal hatred of Russia on the part of some . . .

Russian laws have insulted their life style, so they demand we fight a third World War to assuage their wounded pride.

I, for one, am not ready to get on that particular bandwagon.
A. L."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014881926#post185

A flat statement that laws establishing persecution of gay people are no more than 'insult to their life-style', and that gay people are pressing for WWIII to 'assuage their wounded pride'....

[another_liberal]

61. Give it a rest, Magi . . .

You are in danger of parodying yourself.

[HERVEPA]

36. Who the hell died and made you the king?

[another_liberal]

44. Very funny movie . . .

Though I fail to see the connection between it and my trying to share a quite seriously intended OP with individuals who at least have bothered to read it, instead of just digressing into pointless personal insults.

[HERVEPA]

52. Because you're trying to order people around. And you're not the king so you can't.

[FSogol]

59. Maybe if it was, "It's good to be the Tsar," he would get it.

or It's good to be the dictator."

[CJCRANE]

7. So we support the rebels in Syria

but not in Ukraine.

We supported the rebels in Libya...but not in Iraq (who coincidentally were some of the same rebels we supported in Syria).

IMO western leaders need to drop the neocon script, negotiate in good faith and listen to their citizens, not to corporations and warfare queens.

[another_liberal]

10. Well said,

Thank you for that well-reasoned and meaningful reply.

[leftstreet]

23. +1

[Blue_Tires]

11. Oh, so maybe the Russians need to pull out and let Ukraine run their own affairs, then

[another_liberal]

18. Blame it all on Russia!

Like homeopathic medicine, it's the cure for everything. Just say, "That's Russia's fault," and it's all taken care of, right?

(sigh)

[HERVEPA]

37. (sigh)

[Bad Thoughts]

13. Jeffrey Amherst to Indians: "Supply your own blankets next time."

The revisionism is stunning.

[edhopper]

14. I am sure that will all change

once Russia occupies the country.

[edhopper]

15. Seems this isn't isolated to Ukraine

or even if it is the most dire there.

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/polio-international-public-health-emergency-article-1.1780145

That would be in places like our allies Pakistan and Iraq.

[another_liberal]

19. Sure, we would like to see that those kids get vaccinated . . .

But like the saying goes: "WAR MEANS MORE!"

[jwirr]

22. And war makes it travel. Russia would be smart to get ready.

[another_liberal]

29. This OP is not about Russia . . .

Please get back on topic. Thanks.

[The Magistrate]

33. Of Course It Is, Sir

Anything you post touching on events in Ukraine is really only about your opinions; your opinion that the government in Kiev is absolutely evil, and your opinion that the government in Moscow is on the side of the angels.

Here is a sample of your keen understanding and clear judgement, to give people some deeper idea of what your opinions are worth:

"It is a personal hatred of Russia on the part of some . . .

Russian laws have insulted their life style, so they demand we fight a third World War to assuage their wounded pride.

I, for one, am not ready to get on that particular bandwagon.
A. L."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014881926#post185

A flat statement that laws establishing persecution of gay people are no more than 'insult to their life-style', and that gay people are pressing for WWIII to 'assuage their wounded pride'....

[another_liberal]

47. Still your reading and your interrpretation of the meaning . . .

And still nothing to do with the topic of the OP at hand.

If you wish to indulge in personal attacks against me, please at least have the decency to open your own OP on that topic. Thanks.

[The Magistrate]

49. Try That On Someone Who Does Not Speak English, Sir

The meaning of the words is plain and straightforward, and since the subject of the O.P. is your opinion regarding a news item, material demonstrating what your opinions are worth is quite relevant.

Your opinions as expressed here on Democratic Underground include the op[inions that persecution of gays is quite alright provided it is done by Putin in Russia, that gays here are simply insulted by it, and that a clamor has arisen from gay people for WWIII against Russia to assuage their bruised pride, and that this accounts for a good deal of opposition here to Putin's actions in Ukraine.

If you are that far off, to put it mildly, in one major area, why bother supposing you are closer to the mark anywhere else?

[jwirr]

35. Oh really. Is there a war going on in the Ukraine? Are Russian troops traveling there and returning

home? Do you remember the influenza epidemic of 1918? Troop movements allowed the spread of that epidemic to happen. That is all I am saying. And it is relevant to the topic of polio. At the very least they need to make sure that their troops are vaccinated. The same goes for NATO troops.

[FSogol]

58. DU has no rules about being off topic. Stop telling everyone not to laugh at you.

Thanks.

[DetlefK]

28. So the problem started before the coup and it's Poroshenko's fault for being occupied?

" Less than half of Ukrainian children had been vaccinated for polio before the violence in the country escalated in April, and WHO fears that a polio epidemic may start for the first time in three decades, she added. "

It seems to me that a foreign invasion and a civil-war could count as an excuse to not give this priority.

[another_liberal]

32. Who is occupying Ukraine?

The citizens of Crimea voted to leave Ukraine (as was their right under the UN Charter) and I have yet to see any believable evidence that Russian forces have "invaded" eastern Ukraine:

http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2014/08/how-can-you-tell-whether-russia-has.html

[HERVEPA]

38. You are just so full of it.

[another_liberal]

60. Full of what exactly?

And, nevertheless, please get back on the topic. Thanks.

[meMeMEEEE]

48. The citizens of Crimea did not vote to leave Ukraine

Do let me know once you get hold of any evidence of such a referendum having taken place

Just in case you are unclear on the matter, a 'referendum' is an exercise of direct vote by the electorate that is designed in a manner that minimises the possibility of any of the interested parties to falsify the outcome of the vote (for instance by sending its troops to occupy Gov buildings including the Electoral Commission), presence of international observers is also somewhat customary. If in doubt, please refer to the upcoming one in Scotland as an example

As no such referendum has taken place, Crimea is still a part of Ukraine, hence presence of foreign troops there would make them an occupying force. Hopefully, that clarifies things a bit

As for your second question, what kind of evidence would you consider believable?
(and please don't say an official declaration of war by Russia, that's just not their style nowadays, I just do not want to spend hours collecting all the individual soldiers' social media pages, interviews with their mothers etc. to have it then dismissed as a giant Western anti-Russian conspiracy)

[DetlefK]

57. Where did those crimean paramilitaries suddenly come from?

Where did they get their weapons and vehicles?
Where did they get their uniforms?
Why did they operate with masks?
If they were just random citizens forming a militia, how where they able to execute a detailed plan that paralysed all of Crimea within a day?

1. The voters of Crimea were not given the option to stay with Ukraine. They were allowed to choose between Crimea becoming independent and Crimea becoming a part of Russia.
2. The vote was illegal because such a referendum on seceding territory is only valid under ukrainian law if the voters of all of Ukraine can participate.
3. Widespread evidence of election- and voter-fraud.
4. Voter-turnout below 40%, so not representative of the will of the people.
5. The election was held while masked paramilitaries and russian gangs controlled the streets.

I await your answer.

[Bluenorthwest]

42. So what this article says is that Russia knew of a medical need and yet when they brought a convoy

of 'urgently needed supplies' they did not bother to bring any Polio vaccine with them. All that rhetoric about filling needs, and yet they left this major need of which they claim intimate knowledge totally unaddressed. Why is that? What did they bring them, blinis and vodka? Guns?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

46. If you want to be taken seriously (which i doubt), why dont you quote a less partisan source

ofcourse a less partisan source may say something like this,

(Reuters) - Public distrust of vaccination is reducing the rate of immunization against polio in Ukraine, putting the country at risk of an outbreak of the crippling disease, World Health Organization and U.N. officials warned on Friday.

The vaccination rate for children up to one year of age, the usual age for anti-polio immunization, is now at a very low level of 30-50 percent and the risk of a polio outbreak from an imported virus has significantly increased, they said.......

Immunization is theoretically mandatory for children in Ukraine and vaccinations are provided free under state health care. But many parents refuse to have children vaccinated, fearing vaccines are of poor quality, and the authorities in practice find it hard to insist otherwise.

Ukrainians say family doctors can also often be bribed into signing fake certificate to show a child has received sufficient medical protection from infectious diseases when in fact it has had no vaccinations at all.

U.N. officials say public suspicion of vaccines, fed by adverse media coverage, lie at the heart of a sharp fall-off in the immunization rate in Ukraine since 2008

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/15/us-ukraine-polio-idUSBRE9AE0LJ20131115

still highlights the problem, but doesn't blame poroshenko, which of course would violate the very reason why you post this.