The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Wakiso, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Wakiso district is targeting to immunize 640,000 children during the mass polio vaccination campaign.
The three-day vaccination campaign against polio among children aged five years and below was launched in Wakiso on Thursday. The campaign that targets 8.7 million children aims to also reach children that have missed routine immunization.
Dr Mathias Lugoloobi, the Wakiso District Health Officer says that the exercise will run in a staggered manner starting with Busiro and then Kyaddondo. He explains that several activities have since been conducted among them training of health workers and VHTs as well as social mobilization.
Dr Lugoloobi revealed that all the required logistics have been received and that they are being distributed to the respective areas. He however says that the district is characterized by hard to reach communities and access to public services remain a challenge as 70 percent of the health facilities in the district are private.
Speaking at the launch of the exercise at Wakiso health center IV, the State Minister for Health in charge of general duties, Anifa Kawooya asked communities to embrace the exercise. She said that the campaign will achieve the 95 percent target to kick polio out of Uganda.
The World Health Organization-WHO Country Representative, Dr Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam is optimistic that when the population is vaccinated, the likelihood of finding the virus in the environment is almost zero.
According to Dr Woldemariam, currently, there is no child with polio in Uganda but it was identified from the samples, and vaccination of the population is to deprive the virus of any chances of multiplying and affecting people.
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