AFRO-NETS> Uganda's mass measles immunisation campaign begins October 15

[A Odutola <chpss_abo@yahoo.com>]

Uganda's mass measles immunisation campaign begins October 15
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Datelinehealth-Africa News Service
Special Correspondent in Uganda
Published: 10/15/03
 
Kampala, Uganda. October 15, 2003 - The planned mass immunisation 
against measles starts today, Wednesday, October 15 and is sched-
uled to run till Sunday October 19, 2003. 
 
The Government, in collaboration with the Global and National 
Measles Partnership, has secured 15m doses of measles vaccines to 
immunise 12,751,528 children countrywide aged six months to 15 
years against measles even if they were previously immunized, 
said Dr. P. Mugyenyi, the UNEPI assistant programme manager in 
the health ministry. 
 
He certified all the vaccines as safe because they were tested at 
the Uganda Virus Research Institute in Entebbe.
 
In addition to measles doses, Mugyeyi said the Government would 
de-worm 8,600,000 children aged 5-15 years, while Vitamin A sup-
plementation to will be provided to 4,184,000 children aged be-
tween six and 59 months. 
 
The exercise is estimated to cost US$ 8.3m (about sh16b), Jim 
Muhwezi, the Health Minister said in a ministerial statement and 
schools countrywide are to be used as immunisation centres 
 
In a statement release, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Edu-
cation, Francis Lubanga, called on school authorities "to ensure 
that no child is sent away from school during the campaign", add-
ing that "all head teachers and teachers are requested to ensure 
that they are available at their stations during the campaign pe-
riod to offer the necessary assistance to the immunisation 
staff". Meanwhile, Dr. Emmanuel Mukisa, the Wakiso district di-
rector of health services has directed head teachers to bar non-
immunised pupils and students from attending classes, saying that 
school-going children aged between six months and 15 years would 
be required to present immunisation cards to their schools at the 
end of the national measles immunisation campaign. 
 
Measles is a highly infectious diseases spread through air drop-
lets and is a leading killer as well as cause of ill-health in 
many children in Uganda and most of Africa.
 
--
A. Odutola
mailto:chpss_abo@yahoo.com

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