Vaccination of the civilian population in a country at war: it can be done; it can also be evaluated. The ICRC experience in Mozambique.

The medical division of the International Committee of the Red Cross undertook an expanded programme of immunization in rural areas of Mozambique controlled by the resistance. This programme was evaluated by a 30 cluster survey which showed that 82 per cent of children between 1 and 5 years and 81.7 per cent of mothers of children of less than 1 year had had contact with the vaccination service. Full vaccination was achieved in 40.6 and 35.2 per cent respectively. The reasons for immunization failure were established. The study shows that vaccination of the civilian population of a developing country at war is possible and, importantly, the outcome of the programme can be assessed.