In a joint effort between the Ministry of Health in Lakes State and the World Health Organization (WHO), a week-long measles and polio vaccination campaign targeting a total of 36,000 children aged between 6 and 59 months was launched in Awerial County on Monday.
Dr. James Manyiel Akup, the Medical Director of Awerial County, said that a measles outbreak in February resulted in over 15 reported cases without any fatalities.
“There are vaccines available for children aged 6 months to 59 months, while polio vaccines are administered to children starting from 0.5 years,” he stated. “The measles outbreak has presented a significant challenge and we are urging the Awerial County community to bring their children to any nearby vaccination center within the county.”
For his part, Amot Michael Kuot, a social mobilizer and Boma Health Initiatives Coordinator in Awerial and Yirol East counties confirmed that the supervisory teams had undergone training over the weekend before the vaccination campaign was officially launched.
He reported that the vaccination process has commenced with one team successfully vaccinating approximately 120 children in the remote Gut-thom area, which posed logistical challenges.
“We are targeting 36,000 children, and if there is no vaccine wastage, we anticipate reaching around 33,000 children,” Kuot said. “We have received 36,000 vials of vaccines, with each vial containing 10 doses. Our goal is to vaccinate 36,000 children in Awerial County.”
The vaccination campaign is scheduled to run for 7 days, from Monday to Sunday. Kuot emphasized the high demand for vaccines within the community and reported a substantial turnout of parents seeking vaccinations for their children.