"The children we met are amazing! We played with them in their preschool, visited their homes and enjoyed a friendly football game. It brought to life how important our partnership with UNICEF is in order to build healthier communities, starting with children." – Ailbhe Campbell, CRH Group Finance
Earlier this year, CRH announced a new five-year partnership with UNICEF to support access to life-saving vaccines for over 1.2 million children.
On a recent two-day visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, a group of our employees had the opportunity to see firsthand how our partnership is helping to improve childhood vaccination levels and build stronger, healthier communities.
The group learned about UNICEF’s immunization program in the country and met children and families from the Roma community as well as local UNICEF staff, healthcare providers and NGO workers.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina vaccination rates among the marginalized Roma community are alarmingly low, estimated at between 2-4%. Our partnership is enabling UNICEF to address vaccine hesitancy through education and accessibility.
“The CRH partnership with UNICEF has facilitated an important milestone in the vaccination schedule for children here through the introduction of the pneumococcal vaccine,” said Jela Aćimović, Epidemiologist, who leads the UNICEF health team in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“This will provide all children with protection against bacteria that cause significant health complications, for example pneumonia, middle ear infections and meningitis. It represents an important step in adopting European health standards and the provision of better protection for everyone.”
Standing together to create lasting impact
UNICEF works closely with healthcare providers and local NGO, Romalen, to address misinformation and vaccine hesitancy among the Roma community.
Visiting families to explain the lasting benefits of routine vaccinations is an important part of Romalen’s work. This year it has achieved a 41.7% increase of parents in its home visits program bringing their children to receive routine vaccinations.
As well as hearing about the work of Romalen and local healthcare providers, our employees also had the opportunity to meet and interact with young children from the Roma community at their preschool.
Serving 170 children up to the age of six, vaccination ensures that they, along with other young children, are protected in this preschool setting where the focus is on their social development.
The group also traveled to one of the largest Roma settlements in the country – Varda – with a population of 1,200 adults and 700 children. An estimated 197 families live in the settlement with on average three or more children per family. Often, two to three generations live together and although families occasionally move to other cities or abroad, they often return to the settlement.
“These children deserve equal opportunities and adequate access to education and healthcare. Our commitment to their development and future remains strong, and our goal is that every child from the Varda settlement can fulfil their dreams,” said Sejla Dizdarevic, Social & Behavior Change Officer in UNICEF Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The CRH in support of UNICEF partnership is not only contributing to the health and wellbeing of this Roma community in Bosnia and Herzegovina but also promotes social inclusion and equity, which are essential to the long-term stability and development of the country.
By standing together with UNICEF we are creating lasting and sustainable impact in the communities our partnership is supporting, helping children to survive, thrive and reach their full potential.
UNICEF does not endorse any company, brand, product or service.
