Ministry of Health to conduct second round of House-to-House polio immunization campaign

According to Dr. Ronald Ocaatre , Assistant Commissioner Health Promotion and Education Communication Ministry of Health, polio has already been kicked out of Uganda but has to increase on the level of preparedness.

Feb 15, 2023 - 08:52
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Ministry of Health to conduct second round of House-to-House polio immunization campaign

KAMPALA - The ministry of health is set to conduct the second round of the House-to-House polio immunization campaign in Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) from 17th -20th February 2023. This campaign was supposed to be undertaken in November 2022 but because of the Ebola outbreak that affected the districts of Mubende, Kasanda, Mukono, Wakiso and Kampala, it was postponed to a later date.

According to Dr. Ronald Ocaatre , Assistant Commissioner Health Promotion and Education Communication Ministry of Health, polio has already been kicked out of Uganda but has to increase on the level of preparedness.

“Not every country in Africa is at the same level of preparedness like us. Whereas we are doing very well as a country, our neighbours may not be doing extremely well. Uganda is a liberal country with porous borders involving a lot of human movement and since we cannot be sure who is coming, it is the main reason why Uganda should resume the immunization exercise,” Dr. Ocaatre revealed.

He made the remarks on Monday 13th February at Silver Springs hotel during the Ministry of Health orientation of the media about the upcoming immunization exercise.

Polio is a Global Public Health Emergency. Polio type 2 was declared eradicated in 2015, while Polio type 3 was declared eradicated in 2019, and Polio type 1 remains endemic in two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Dr. Ocaatre says that until polio’s transmission is interrupted in these countries, all counties remain at risk of importation of the disease especially vulnerable countries with weak public health and immunization services and travel or trade links to endemic countries.

In Africa, Malawi and Mozambique detected WPVI imported from Pakistan and due to low population immunity. Also, Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Viruses (CVDPV) outbreaks have occurred in over 20 countries in the Africa region.

Polio virus detected in the environment falls into three major categories: Wild, Sabin and Sabin-like. In total, 21 African countries are affected by the ongoing CVDPV2.

According to Dr. Ocaatre, the last polio case in Uganda was reported in November 2010 from the district of Mayuge. The last case due to VDPV was in August 2014, in Kamuli and Kisoro districts.

The risk of polio importation from the Horn of Africa includes highest risk areas like; Somalia, Kenya (Northeast Counties like Madera, Wagir, Garissa, Turkana, and Nairobi). Others which are classified as high-risk area in terms of risk of importation include: South Sudan (6 districts), Uganda (21 border districts), and Tanzania (21 districts). It was noted that all remaining areas in the Horn of Africa are at risk areas.

It is from the above background that the ministry of Health has come up with polio eradication strategies which include high routine immunization coverage (at least 3 doses of polio during first year of life); National Immunization days and “mop up” campaigns and lastly Acute Flaccid Paralysis.

According to statistics released by World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF after random sampling, the polio routine immunization campaign round one was successful. Parents in Kampala have therefore been advised to be part of this exercise and allow all children under 5 years to be immunized. Besides those under 5 years, Village Health Teams (VHTs) are advised to ask for children under 15 years who developed sudden weakness in any of their limbs in the last 6 months and should record all the children who have never been immunised.

The scope includes all five divisions that form KCCA, and the target group is all children under 5 years. All villages are expected to be covered including informal settlements and upscale high-class locations.

However, round one faced many challenges at the national level according to the technical officers at the ministry of health that include; the late distribution of tools, training and IEC materials, delayed release of funds, limited budget for refreshments and fuel, continued postponement of the campaign which led to the expiry, and limited supply of markers.

At the Sub National level, incomplete micro plans, lack of adherence to the National Strategy, resistance in some districts and schools, and sub optimal team performance were some of the challenges faced.

Meanwhile, UNEPI Program Manager, Dr Alfred Driwale said that the KCCA technical personnel have been trained in a cascaded way to provide the best immunization services.

“Vaccines help you do what your body was supposed to do anyway. If you do not get the vaccine, your body will start from zero to fifth the disease,” he noted while appealing to all parents to be interested in this campaign.

John Kusolo John Kusolo, a Ugandan Journalist, Sport fanatic, Tourist, Pastor, and Motivational Speaker. I am passionate about my work with a steady source of motivation that drives me to do my best. I am ambitious and driven. I thrive on challenge and constantly set goals for myself, so I have something to strive toward. Socials: John Kusolo on facebook and Twitter.