Poor, undocumented folk can’t afford vaccines
SANDAKAN: “Vaccination is important, but we cannot afford it.”
That was the reply from Nursiah Ayan, 19, and her mother, Norlidah Hamid, 35, when asked about the importance of vaccination to prevent diseases.
Both were at the Vaccine Injection Programme by non-governmental organisation Tzu Chi (Sandakan branch) in collaboration with Duchess of Kent Hospital in Kampung Mangkalinau here yesterday.
Nursiah, who brought her 3month-old son for vaccination, said she gave birth at home with the help of a village midwife because she had no identification documents and could not afford medical fees.
She said her husband was a construction worker and they had never been vaccinated due to poverty and lack of documents.
“My husband has no fixed income. We learnt about the importance of vaccines through the Tzu Chi programme held in our village last year.
“Many children here have been vaccinated through the free programme. We would not have been able to get it done at the hospital because of the high fees.”
Norlidah brought Nursiah’s six siblings, aged 10 months to 6 years old, to get free vaccination through the programme, which started at 9am.
Norlidah said of her 12 children, only two were vaccinated because they were born in a government hospital.
“Getting vaccinations in government hospitals is expensive. What’s more, people like us don’t have identification documents or marriage certificates. We have to pay a lot if we deliver in government hospitals.
“Around 2003, the cost of delivering at government hospitals for people without identification documents was more than RM900. There’s no way we can afford it, what more getting the baby vaccinated.”
Mother-of-three Erma Ammek, 32, said having no citizenship and poverty led to her skipping vaccination for her children, aged 1 to 6.
“We know the importance of vaccines, but foreigners like us cannot afford to get them from hospitals or private clinics.”