UNICEF said on Wednesday that Somali children and women have received a high-impact, life-saving health package during the Child Health Days Campaign in the Afgoye Corridor, a 30 km stretch of road west of Mogadishu and the world' s most densely populated settlement for the displaced.

For the first time, the UN agency said in a statement issued in Nairobi that at least 46,000 children under five and 37,000 women of child-bearing age benefited during the five-day campaign.

"Our joint success in implementing this large-scale outreach in the Afgoye area is a testament to how we can make a difference in Somalia even in the most difficult of circumstances." said Rozanne Chorlton, UNICEF representative to Somalia.

Afgoye currently hosts over 524,000 displaced people driven out of their homes due to the conflict in Mogadishu and the south, who are enduring harsh living conditions and lacking even the most basic social services.

The Child Health Days Campaigns are implemented across Somalia with support from UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) in close collaboration with local authorities and NGO partners.

In a country where routine immunization coverage is among the lowest in the world, the nation-wide intervention aims to immunize every under-five child against measles, polio, diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus, in addition to provision of Vitamin A, de-worming tablets and nutritional screening for referral of malnourished children to feeding programs.

Women of child bearing are immunized against neonatal tetanus. The Child Health Days package also includes oral rehydration salts to treat diarrhea and water purification tablets.

"Afgoye corridor is one of the locations in Somalia where humanitarian access is very challenging, but it is also where the impact of such an intervention is extremely critical due to the high density of population," Chorlton said.

"Therefore bringing the Child Health Days to Afgoye was key priority and thanks to the determination of communities and to UNICEF's and WHO's extended partnerships on the ground, vulnerable children and women were reached with crucial services."

More than 200 vaccinators and 300 health workers implemented the campaign in Afgoye, making this large-scale program possible despite poor infrastructure and lack of appropriate health facilities.

The Child Health Days were launched in Somalia in December 2008 reaching during the first round over one million children under five and 800,000 women across the country.

The intervention is repeated every six months to help promote child survival and boost immunization rates, in addition to promoting demand for public health services among communities.

The campaign has already contributed to improving immunization rates by achieving coverage of 60 to 80 percent, while immunization rates in Somalia over the last ten years have been in the range of 20 to 30 percent.