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.
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.
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