Over 700,00 children under five to be vaccinated in new polio campaign

A polio vaccination campaign targeting over 700,000 children in Banaadir and Shabelle regions kicked off Sunday as the country bolsters efforts to ensure the viral disease is eliminated.

The campaign conducted jointly by the Ministry of Health, UN children’s agency UNICEF and World Health Organisation will be conducted in Banaadir, Lower and Middle Shabelle regions with the aim of reaching 726,699 children under the age of five.

WHO representative Dr. Ghulam Popal said all children whether immunized or not should get the vaccine dose.

“No cases of polio have been detected in Somalia since August 2014, however, as a preventative measure; it is imperative that all children under five years of age in targeted locations, whether previously immunized or not, receive two drops of oral polio vaccine,” Popal said.  We urge all families to get their children vaccinated to protect them against this dangerous disease.”

The Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) must be administered multiple times to be fully effective but the number of doses it takes to immunize the child depends entirely on the children’s health and nutritional status.

The campaign will be conducted in two rounds through house-to-house visits by vaccination teams, UNICEF and WHO said in a statement. The first and second round will involve the use of oral polio vaccine for children under five years of age. Inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) will be used in the third round to boost immunity among children between 2-23 months of age.

UNICEF country representative Steven Lauwerier said the campaign will ensure all children are reached particularly those who have not received the dose before.

“This campaign has been carefully planned to make sure that all children in the chosen areas, particularly those who have been missed in previous vaccination campaigns, are reached this time,” said Lauwerier.

Polio is a highly infectious disease that is caused  when a person is infected by the polio virus that invades the nervous system. It can cause paralysis and even death.

More than 4,400 vaccinators and monitors, and around 800,000 doses of vaccine have been mobilized to conduct the activity.

Somalia has been polio free since August 2014, when the last case of polio was reported from Hobyo district of Mudug region.