Reindeer don’t just work on Christmas eve

While the weather is heating up in Australia, Mongolia’s icy winter is quickly approaching. In the northern province of Khövsgöl, night-time temperatures will dip to as low as -40°C. 

Vaccinator Peta knows she has to move quickly before weather conditions worsen. She has made the long journey to the nomadic herder community before. 

First, she takes a long drive. Then, a hand-drawn ferry. And finally, she travels by reindeer to the remote Tsagaannur district where children wait to be vaccinated.

“I love to travel in rural areas,” Peta says. “It’s both rewarding and fun to help people here.”

Each time Peta visits the distant towns, she carries an insulated box to keep measles and rubella vaccines at a constant temperature. If at any stage the vaccine’s temperature drops below two degrees or rises above eight, it can become unusable.

It’s not an easy job, but Peta never gives up.

Thanks to healthcare staff like Peta, children of nomadic herder families - roughly a quarter of Mongolia’s children - have been immunised against deadly measles and rubella.

Despite the incredible progress, there are still 20 million children around the world that don’t receive even the most basic vaccines, leaving them vulnerable to disease.
 

UNICEF believes no child should lose their life to a preventable disease. That’s why we go where others can’t to help protect every child.

Before working as a vaccinator, Peta was a surgical nurse for almost two decades as well as a government health worker for 10 years.

Healthcare workers, like Peta, know how to protect children in every region of the world. They fearlessly trek the distance because they know what they are doing is working.

But they can’t do it alone. Every day, UNICEF donors make thousands of children smile because they’ve helped protect them against preventable diseases. Help us continue protecting children around the globe - no matter where they are.
 

*Peta’s name has been changed.