There was local pride and determination in his voice. My colleagues and I were walking the rugged trails of the Solu Khumbu region of eastern Nepal. Mount Everest and other Himalayan peaks provide a dramatic backdrop to terraced fields, medieval-style villages, and piles of prayer stones on lonely trails. The friendly Sherpas live in villages without electricity or indoor plumbing, without glass in the windows or tiles on the floor. Despite the region's isolation and shortage of resources, preparations for the campaign were impressive.
Porters carry vaccine supplies in ice-packed coolers along Nepal's mountain trails.
Every village we passed boasted a large, red National Immunization Day banner flapping in the wind. Posters decorated shops, schools, and other buildings. Dr. Sherpa told us that distribution of adequate vaccine supplies is a major challenge in his mountainous country. This is particularly true of oral polio vaccine since exposure to heat can damage the vaccine's potency and it must be carried in insulated coolers. The system of moving vaccines from refrigerator to cooler to immunization center is called a cold chain.