Dowa DHO to Implement 2023 Second round of Polio Immunization Campaign
By Vincent Gunde……
The District Health Office (DHO) in Dowa will from 13th-16th September, 2023 administer Round 2 of Polio Vaccine Campaign 2023 which will be implemented through door -to-door by health workers across the district.
The Campaign will be implemented with a goal to stop the transmission and prevent spread of Poliovirus and increase population immunity in children under 15 years of age as Polio continues to spread in Malawi since the outbreak was confirmed in March, 2022.
District Health Promotion Officer for Dowa Davie Nuka, said the supplementary immunization aims to interrupt the circulation of Poliovirus by immunizing every child under 15 years of age with oral Polio vaccine regardless of previous immunization status.
Nuka said the objective of the campaign is to reach out to all children who are not immunized or only protected, and to boost immunity in those who have not been immunized in living no child behind with the vaccine.
He said Round one of the Campaign which was conducted in July, 2023 the district recorded 107 percent of children vaccinated beating a set target by the Ministry of Health of 95 percent describing this as an achievement.
The officer said the office of the DHO in the district is expecting more children to be vaccinated as Dowa has always been number one and in Round 2 of the campaign will maintain the same position to make sure that Polio virus is prevented from spread in the district.
He said besides registering an achievement of 107 percent of children vaccinated, Round one of the campaign faced some challenges in the district such as caregivers refusing allowing their children to be vaccinated on religious beliefs, too many doses for children and Covid-19 pandemic related.
Nuka said Faith leaders played a crucial role of engaging caregivers through Rapid Resolution Teams visiting them for informed decisions advising parents and guardians that oral vaccine is safe, denying children to receive, is denying their rights for good health.
“Let’s work together to prevent the spread of Poliovirus in the district by immunizing our children, polio is a highly infectious disease, it causes weakness or paralysis in the limbs,” he said.
In her remarks, Dowa District Council’s Director of Planning and Development Mercy Mpakule, called for an intensive sensitization for the communities to understand why Round 2 of Polio vaccination campaign before rolling it on the ground.
Mpakule encouraged parents and guardians in the district to come with their children at the vaccination centres close to them reminding them that only health people can take part in the development of the district and the country as a whole.
