Kitgum
District Health department is targeting to vaccinate more than 40,000 children
aged below five years during the first phase of the polio vaccination exercise
on Friday.
The Acting
District Health Officer Dr. Henry Okello Otto says the vaccination is part of a
nationwide campaign following confirmed polio cases that were detected in
Kampala and in neighboring South Sudan.
Dr. Okello
says Kitgum District is one of the border districts with South Sudan and therefore renders
it a high-risk area and the health department plans to vaccinate over 48,000
children to improve their immunity against polio. According to Dr. Okello, the exercise
will be carried out door-to-door and at all existing health facilities
in the district.
Dr. Okello
urges parents, guardians, and communities living in the areas where the campaign
will take place to ensure that all children under the age of five years receive
the oral polio vaccine.
//Cue in:
“lutino ma tye…..
Cue out:
….kubed peke”//
The Kitgum
Resident District Commissioner William Komakech reiterates that the district is
vulnerable and they will not offer room for complacency due to the significant
polio resurgence risks that continue to exist through cross-border
transmission. Komakech however also stressed that whenever similar campaigns
are initiated some people raise vaccine safety concerns.
He says that the polio vaccines have undergone
rigorous safety procedures and are safe to be administered to children.
He however
warned persons who would emerge while opposing the campaign saying the
government will take necessary actions in ensuring that all children enjoy the right
to good health but also essential to keep Uganda free from polio.
Dan Michael Komakech
Freelancer