As the country joins the rest of the world to commemorate World Polio Day today, Uganda has secured 12 million doses of the Polio vaccine for children below the age of 5 in a campaign that kicks off on 4th November.
Dr. Alfred Driwale, the Program Manager of Uganda National Expanded Program on Immunization (UNEPI) at the Ministry of Health says the door-to-door exercise targets nearly 9 million children.
He asks parents and caretakers to cooperate with health workers to ensure all children below 5 years are vaccinated against polio.
He explains that the ministry embarked on the exercise because Uganda is surrounded by countries with weaker health systems and is prone to harbouring the disease, which can easily be spread into the country.
World Polio Day is marked every 24th of October to provide an opportunity to highlight global efforts towards a polio-free world and honor the tireless contributions of those on the frontline in the fight to eradicate polio from every corner of the globe. This Year’s Theme is Together, Let’s End Polio!.”
