Monday, 23rd March, 2009 from NEW VISION
Dr. Mallinga immunises Daisy Naiga, as her mother, Rita Namaganda, looks on THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has commended Uganda for its timely reporting and response to the recent wild polio outbreak in Amuru district. WHO representative Dr. Joachim Saweka said Uganda set a world record when she responded to the February 25 outbreak within four weeks. The global response time is six weeks, he explained. Saweka was speaking during celebrations to launch the sub-national synchronised immunisation days in Luweero district on Saturday. The event was presided over by Dr. Stephen Mallinga, the health minister. Uganda, Southern Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, Chad and the eastern DR Congo, have launched similar immunisation campaigns against the wild polio virus. The campaign will cover 29 high-risk districts in Uganda. To launch the campaign, Saweka, Mallinga and the Luweero Woman MP, Rebecca Lukwago, each immunised one child. Saweka urged the health ministry to ensure that all children receive a booster dose of the vaccine. “If we do not reach all children, the imported polio virus will stay in our country and re-establish the transmission. This will erase all the gains made since 1996 when the country became one of the first polio-free countries in Africa.” Saweka noted that the decrease in polio cases had led many parents to become complacent and not complete immunisation. Dr. Mallinga said the polio virus type that was confirmed in Amuru is linked to that which was recently detected in Juba, Southern Sudan. He advised leaders from districts on the Kampala-Juba highway to encourage the locals to improve their hygiene in order to check the spread of the virus. Polio is spread through contact with the faeces of an infected person.
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