From warehouse to remote indigenous communities

Through the success of Brazil’s National Immunization Programme, routine vaccination coverage in the country averages above 95% for most vaccines on the child immunization schedule every year –exceeding WHO’s recommendation of at least 90% coverage.

Most of the vaccines are produced through local manufacturers and provided free of charge in more than 36 000 public health care facilities throughout the country. Every year, the country provides more than 300 million doses of vaccines against 25 diseases, and it recently boosted its immunization efforts against the yellow fever outbreak with more than 21 million extra vaccine doses.

Despite immunization success, one of the biggest challenges in Brazil is providing essential medical supplies and health care to remote communities deep in the Amazon jungle, where roads are few and medical teams have to travel hours by boat to reach them.

This photo story describes the journey of vaccines from a warehouse in Rio de Janeiro to indigenous communities living in remote jungle villages in the State of Amazonas.