Iganga, (UG):- Authorities in Iganga District led by the Deputy Resident District Commissioner (DRDC) Mr Kato Dauda have intervened to tame the resistant communities who were not willing to embrace the ongoing government programme of mass immunization against Polio disease.
The exercise in Iganga district, which was launched at Nawansega in Namungalwe Sub County, also attracted health officials from the Ministry of Health and the district. The group rushed to Bulanga Children Centre in Namungalwe Sub County where the school head teacher Mr Muwanguzi Julius had refused to offer pupils for the vaccination exercise on Thursday.
It should be noted that the government of Uganda introduced a mass vaccination campaign for children below 5 years, starting on October 3 to October 6, and targeting the 49 districts in Busoga, Bugisu, Bukedi, Teso and Karamoja. This comes after an outbreak of the disease in Bugisu and Mbale city in particular.
“When we reached the school, we intervened and had a meeting with the school teachers and we agreed that the learners be vaccinated tomorrow,” RDC Kato said before asking the schools to embrace the vaccination campaign, citing that it has no harm but intended to protect the lives of children.
The Assistant District Health Officer in charge of preventive health Dr. Mwebaza Karim Muluya rallied people to embrace the exercise and condemned the triple six cults in the region who were resistant to the exercise. He said there is a need for a healthy community.
Dr. Muluya assured the public that they will vaccinate all the children in all means citing that many are the mechanisms of getting them vaccinated even if it calls for forceful strategies, though he didn’t reveal any. He asked private schools to comply and offer children for vaccination.
However, Dr Nakafeero Brenda Simbwa, an Epidemiologist from the Ministry of Health and also the vaccination supervisor for Iganga District says they decided to launch the exercise in Namungalwe Sub County after realizing that there are some resistant communities.
“We have found some resistances where children are being hidden and schools closed, however, some communities are very receptive and vaccination is going on. We found a school that had refused learners to be vaccinated but with the intervention of the RDC, we have agreed that children should be vaccinated,” Dr. Nakafeero said.
The exercise that kicked off on Thursday will last for four days up to Sunday, October 6, 2024, and it is running concurrently in the 49 districts and the government anticipates that it will reduce the risk of polio spread in the country.
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