Govt engages faith leaders in polio fight
Government has urged faith leaders to leverage their networks in promoting awareness and encouraging parents and caregivers to participate in the second-round of the mass polio vaccination campaign.
Deputy Minister of Health Halima Daudi made the call in Dowa on Wednesday during a meeting with faith leaders to gain their support and partnership in ensuring that every child in the country receives the vaccine and prevents polio, a crippling and deadly infectious viral disease which cannot be cured.
The second-round of the campaign, which targets vaccinating 9.5 million children, is scheduled to run from September 13 to 16.
The deputy minister said faith leaders’ endorsement of the vaccination campaign would instill trust in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.
She said: “This campaign is a vital step towards eradication as vaccination remains the most effective tool at our disposal. We need your unwavering support, trust and partnership to ensure that every child in Malawi receives this life-saving vaccine.”
In his remarks, Global Polio Eradication Initiative (Gpei) deputy coordinator Ibrahim Hussein called on the faith leaders to use their platforms to educate and inform their congregations about the importance of polio vaccination.
He said: “Let us work together to dispel negative myths and misinformation surrounding vaccines. This is not just a medical campaign, but a shared responsibility where we work together to ensure that every eligible child aged between 0 and15 years is reached with oral polio life-saving vaccine during the campaign so that no child has to endure the agony of polio disease ever again.”
Malawi Interfaith Aids Association (Miaa) board chairperson Saiti Jambo was optimistic that the country can eradicate polio once and for all.
He said the polio case that was reported in 2022 followed by 30 years of no polio cases recorded in the country.
Said Jambo: “As the government launches the polio vaccination week, we as faith leaders will encourage one another to spread the message and ensure that the children get vaccinated.
“Most of the older generation have scars which indicate that they were vaccinated, so it is not new for anyone to get polio vaccination. As such, we encourage every Malawian to receive the vaccine.”
Meanwhile, Daudi indicated that Malawi has so far conducted five polio vaccination campaigns covering above 100 percent—four rounds in 2022 and another on in 2023.
She also said Malawi has also improved its Lot Quality Assessment Sampling results, such that in the recent polio vaccination campaign, 20 out of the country’s 29 health districts passed the assessment.
Malawi has also enhanced surveillance for polio through active case search and established 10 environmental surveillance sites across the country to ensure that no polio case is missed. So far, polio cases have been recorded in Lilongwe, Blantyre, Phalombe and Mulanje districts.
