By Felix Oketcho
Kampala: World Health Organization (WHO) has reported an alarming polio infection rate in Uganda although the country had fought tooth and nail to eradicate the disease.
Dr. Emmanuel Tenywa WHO representative says the first case was reported in Bugolobi a Kampala City Suburb and since then, the cases have escalated urging the Ministry of Health to engage in mass vaccination drives.
Dr Alfred Driwale Programme Manager at Uganda National Expanded Program on Immunization (UNEPI) confirmed the first case saying it was registered in July 2021.
Dr Driwale however says the Ministry of Health will embark on mass vaccination of children starting from November 2021 and the Ministry is to receive a consignment of polio vaccines at Entebbe Airport today.
Driwale said that while there are ongoing difficulties resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, parents should make sure that their children are immunized while following the Ministry of Health’s guidance.
“We want to encourage parents and guardians to take their children for routine immunization at any nearby health centre. The vaccines are available, and the health workers are ready to immunize children,” Dr. Driwale said.
Lady year Uganda received 3,842,000 doses of Bivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (bOPV) to support routine immunization services throughout the country. The doses lasted for six months and were administered to about 900,000 children below the age of one year.
The bOPV vaccines were procured by UNICEF, with funding from the Government of Uganda.
