A Qatar Charity team educates mothers on the dangers of polio and measles.

Some 850,000 Syrian children under the age of six have benefited from a Qatar Charity (QC) health project that involved a vaccination campaign against polio and measles.
The project has been implemented at a cost of QR7.3mn, according to a statement from QC.
After wild poliovirus was confirmed to have spread among Syrian children living in Syria, QC announced the implementation of a “new, urgent” health project targeting 1.4mn Syrian kids.
In October 2013, polio found its way back to Syria for the first time since 1999. In addition, new cases were diagnosed with measles. The main reason behind such spread of diseases was the low coverage of national vaccination services, which decreased from 90% in 2011 to 52% in March 2014.
A large number of medical personnel were trained for the vaccination campaign. More than 8,500 volunteers joined the initiative to visit camps in Idlib, Lattakia, Hama and Aleppo to vaccinate the children. Each visit covered around 10,000 kids.
QC co-operated with people working in the health field and made use of 72 medical facilities that were under the opposition’s control, including seven health facilities in camps for displaced people near the border with Turkey.
The campaign targets children who are more vulnerable to polio and measles. Different statistics and studies show that children under five are more likely to be infected, and that death rates are higher among them. The campaign also seeks to vaccinate children (six months to 15 years) against measles.  
Through its awareness-raising activities, QC aims to educate the people of Syria and teach them about the risks of polio and measles and the ways of prevention, the statement notes. The campaign will cover East Aleppo, Al Raqqah, Deir Ezzor and Al Hasakah.
Meanwhile, QC recently brought eight ambulances and 200 electric wheelchairs. It also distributed ambulances to field hospitals and charity aid stations in a number of governorates.
The organisation distributed two vans in the Al Ghab plains (Hama’s countryside), two in Aleppo and its countryside, two in Idlib and its countryside, one in Jisr Al Shughur and one in the countryside of Lattakia. The project was implemented at a cost of QR300,000.
Some 200 patients benefited from the electric wheelchairs. They suffered from complete or partial paralysis, or had their legs amputated. The project helped them move easily and fulfil their needs, the statement added, noting that it alleviated their sufferings and eased their pain.