A three-day special vaccination campaign has been successfully completed in a remote Mro village in Lama Upazila of Bandarban, bringing Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) services to children and women who have limited access to regular healthcare.
The campaign was conducted from Wednesday (September 16) to Friday (September 18) at Tongpong Mro Para in Rupshipara Union, a highly remote area bordering Thanchi and Dim Pahar.
The programme was organised by Lama Upazila Health Complex with funding from the US government’s Department of State and support from the Green Hill NGO’s MIHR project. A total of 88 people, including women and children from the Mro community, received free healthcare services.
According to the upazila health department, a six-member special team was formed under the direction of Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr Golam Mostafa Nadim and led by Health Assistant Philip Mro.
Health Assistant Md Mizanur Rahman and Green Hill NGO project Upazila Coordinator Mongshi Prue Marma were among the team members.
The health workers travelled through extremely difficult hilly terrain, including steep and uneven roads and streams, to reach Tongpong Mro Para.
At the village, local children and women received vaccines against tuberculosis, polio and measles-rubella, among other serious diseases. The team also conducted malaria tests, provided healthcare to pregnant women and offered necessary advice on maternal and child health awareness.
Md Golam Mostafa, MT-EPI of the upazila health department, said Tongpong Mro Para is the last settlement of Rupshipara Union near Thanchi-Dim Pahar.
Residents of the area have to travel to Thanchi market to purchase essential goods because of the remote location. It takes around five to six hours to reach Lama market on foot through hilly terrain. Travelling by vehicle requires going through Alikadam Upazila, which imposes significant financial costs on residents.
Upazila Health Inspector Samiran Barua said health workers regularly travel through difficult mountainous routes to provide vaccination services under the special campaign against tuberculosis, polio and measles-rubella.
He praised the health workers for their courage and dedication in reaching remote communities.
Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr Golam Mostafa Nadim said the special campaign was organised to bring children and women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts who are deprived of regular healthcare and vaccination services because of geographical barriers under full vaccination coverage.
“Our efforts will continue to ensure that basic healthcare services reach people at all levels in the hill areas,” he said.
