Blantyre targets 231 068 children in polio vaccination

Blantyre District Health Office (DHO) says it is set to vaccinate at least 231 068 under-five children in the fourth round of polio vaccination campaign which started yesterday.

Speaking to journalists ahead of the roll out of the campaign on Wednesday, Blantyre district chief preventive officer Penjani Chunda encouraged parents to ensure their children are vaccinated against polio.

He said they are ready for the fourth round of the campaign, which started on October 13 and will run up to October 16.

Said Chunda: “We have already verified data and prepared facilities for the exercise.

“We are still maintaining the target of 231 068 children because we want to reinforce immunity. We introduced more rounds to ensure that we reach all the targeted children.”

Chunda said the vaccination will protect children from the disease, especially now that Malawi’s neighbour Mozambique has reported more polio cases.

Blantyre district health promotion officer Chrissy Banda said children who have just surpassed five years are still encouraged to take the vaccine.

“We are going to use the same door-to-door strategy to reach out to more children,” she said.

In random interviews in Blantyre, parents committed to take their children to facilities to receive the vaccines.

Joanna Chitani, a resident in Bangwe Township in Blantyre City, said she does not want her child to miss the fourth round of the vaccination campaign.

“My child has received the polio vaccine in all three previous rounds. I will, therefore, not miss this one,” she said.

Blantyre DHO healthcare workers will also take the vaccines to homes on Saturday and Sunday to accommodate children who normally go to school during week days.

Malawi Government declared the polio outbreak a national public health emergency on February 17 2022 after the country registered a case in Lilongwe.