Cj is a year old now, and in Seychelles that means it's time for her Yellow Fever jab. A drive over to the other side of the island took care of that yesterday, and other than a howl and a couple of big, fat tears, (hers, not mine, as I've finally hardened up enough to watch my kids getting hurt for their own good), it went well. She's now protected against a very nasty illness until she's ten.

Yellow Fever is not something kids get inoculated against under most circumstances in temperate climates, but is part of the regular children's vaccination schedule in Seychelles. (Mark and I have an appointment to get ours updated next month, as it's a must for travel to Africa, as we're going to Kenya at the end of May.) In addition to the prescribed course that starts with the BCG at birth, then continues month by month with polio, DPT, Hep B and MMR, Yellow Fever rounds out an effective program of disease prevention.

Healthcare in Seychelles is provided by the government, so all these injections are at no direct cost to families, and compliance is very nearly one hundred percent. The systems in place to provide immunizations are efficient and the education that goes along with the prevention programs is quite good.

There are a couple of shots not available here, so our trips to Singapore always include a visit to a pediatrician we've established a relationship with there. Last visit, Sam was brought up to speed with jabs against chicken pox and Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b). Keeping on top of latest in child health can take some doing ... and occasionally a plane trip.

Unlike Sam who'd had not been immunized at all when we traveled to Phnom Penh for him in February of 2003, Cj was almost up to date on hers at thirteen weeks old. Cambodia has made significant strides in the direction of children's health in the two years between our adoptions from there and appears to be improving all the time.