Tuesday March 26, 2019
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia kicked
off a countrywide polio campaign yesterday, as part of ongoing efforts
to sustain polio immunity and protection in response to the outbreaks of
two strains of poliovirus currently circulating.
The campaign, which runs from 24-27 March 2019, aims to reach as many
as possible of Somalia’s 3.1 million children under age five. During
this campaign, vaccinators are offering bivalent oral polio vaccine
(bOPV), which protects against type 1 and type 3 polioviruses.
National Polio Immunization Days are a major healthcare drive and
this one offers quality immunization to protect Somali children against
polioviruses now and in the future. The campaign engages tens of
thousands of Somalia’s polio community and health workforce:
More than 15,000 polio vaccinators traversing the country on
foot, and by car, camel and donkey, knocking on doors and working
tirelessly to reach as many children as possible;
3,500 social mobilizers, together with 146 regional and district
social mobilization coordinators, visiting Somali homes to explain the
immense benefits for children when they receive the polio vaccine every
time it is offered;
More than 1,300 nomadic elders engaged for better reach of nomadic and rural settlements;
Hundreds of teams mapping out houses and institutions to visit,
and delivering oral polio vaccines to health facilities in every
district.
Highlighting the importance of the mass immunization effort,
Somalia’s Federal Government Health Minister, HE Fauziya Abikar Nur
said, “We are appealing to every parent, caregiver and adult in Somalia
to ensure that their children, and every child they know, especially
those that might have been missed being vaccinated last year, or were
recently born, receive this polio vaccine. We all have a role to play to
protect Somalia’s children, our legacy, from entirely preventable
infections and paralysis.” “We are reaching out to partners in every
field to support us in getting access to under-immunized children,
especially from families on the move or residing in hard-to-reach areas
to boost their immunity and protect them against polio,” added WHO
Representative, Dr Mamunur Malik. “If you live in an area where
vaccinators might find it difficult to reach you, please look for the
nearest health facility or transit vaccination point available between
24-27 March.” Somalia has been free of wild poliovirus since 2014.
The two strains of polioviruses currently circulating were detected
in late 2017 and have left 12 children paralyzed so far. To stop further
spread of the polioviruses, under the leadership of Somalia’s national
authorities at all levels and support from partners, WHO and UNICEF have
conducted three national immunization campaigns and nine sub-national
campaigns since December 2017. These campaigns delivered three different
types of polio vaccine to convey protection against all types of
polioviruses. “Despite these efforts, more can be done. Until the time
when polio is eradicated from every country worldwide, there will always
be a risk for countries like Somalia, where children’s polio immunity
is low and where there are children who cannot regularly access routine
immunization programmes,” said Jesper Moller, UNICEF Somalia
Representative a.i.
“The only way to guard Somalia’s children from the devastating
effects from polio infection is to build their immunity by taking
advantage of every dose that is offered with each vaccination campaign
and reporting all children with paralysis symptoms as soon as possible
to local health authorities, to prevent other children from contracting
the disease.” About UNICEF UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest
places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more
than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere,
to build a better world for everyone.