Infant vaccination: 7 thousand boys and girls will receive psychological assistance in vaccination centers

This Monday, vaccination against COVID-19 began for children in Metropolitan Lima, Callao, Lima Region, Ica and Junín. According to MINSA, a total of 49 schools, nine hospitals and differentiated spaces in the 76 vaccination centers that have been operating in Lima and Callao, already receive children between 5 and 11 years of age with comorbidities, and those under 10 to 11 years of age. without comorbidities, to be immunized.

In order to ensure the protection of children against the pandemic, Save the Children supports the vaccination process by running its program “Sanitos: Protected and healthy families against Covid-19”. This intervention seeks to reduce the risks faced by families in San Juan de Lurigancho (SJL) through the implementation of friendly spaces where psychological support is provided focused on managing emotions. Likewise, campaigns are carried out to promote the vaccine.

The program provides for the installation of 18 friendly spaces for girls and boys in the SJL vaccination centers (Parque Zonal Wiracocha, IPD Bayovar and Universidad César Vallejo) according to the vaccination schedule. Each intervention will include three spaces: emotion management circuit prior to vaccination, emotion management approach in the post-vaccine waiting interval, and psychological counseling and containment for special cases by specialist psychologists.

In addition, there will be dissemination of information on psychological care services and reporting channels in cases of domestic violence, especially aimed at women, girls and boys at risk, as well as distribution of manuals for fathers, mothers and caregivers, which facilitate their Knowledge of parenting methods free of violence.

“Our goal is to contribute to the protection of the most vulnerable families in SJL, reducing health and protection vulnerabilities caused by the pandemic. The project will provide inputs and protection for families to empower themselves, adopt preventive self-care practices and be able to denounce the violence that is configured as another great secondary impact of this pandemic,” said Roxana Pingo, Save the Children Project Coordinator.

The project, which is being implemented in consortium with Paz y Esperanza and with the support of DIRIS Lima Centro and the USAID Humanitarian Assistance Office (BHA), will run until May this year and seeks to benefit 7,000 boys and girls in the friendly spaces. Likewise, some 7,000 fathers, mothers and caregivers will receive training related to parenting without violence. In addition, another 23,000 people will receive information on mitigation measures and promotion of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“The objective is to provide emotional support in the face of the fear that children may feel about vaccines, as well as the prevention of family violence. At the entrance to the vaccination center there will be a group of clowns with a performance on the theme of fear and vaccines. They will interact with the boys and girls. When they are in the waiting room there will be a theater with puppets, the idea is to present works where violence prevention will be discussed and we will also have a space with psychologists attending to families”, added Pingo.