Machinga District Hospital has intensified cross-border collaboration with Mozambican health authories to strengthen the ongoing supplementary polio vaccination campaign.
The hospital’s spokesperson Wongani Nyirenda said the district is implementing door-to-door, school-based and health facility-based strategies to ensure that all children, including those in border areas, are vaccinated.
vaccination in Machinga. | Haneeph Maulana
He said the exercise is targeting children in high-risk areas such as Nayuchi, Chikwewo, Ngokwe and Mkwakwata with support from health partners.
“We have received support from our health partners to reach all border areas to ensure that the exercise is successful,” said Nyirenda.
According to Machinga District Health Office, the district is targeting 319 898 children aged between zero and nine and has deployed 534 vaccination teams across the district’s 27 traditional authorities (T/As).
Nyirenda appealed to traditional and religious leaders to encourage communities to get their children vaccinated and help dispel misinformation surrounding the vaccine.
T/A Nchinguza, whose area borders Mozambique, said extending the campaign to border communities will help protect people from the disease.
On her part, Ethel Bamusi from T/A Sitola in the district commended health authorities for the door-to-door approach, saying the intervention will help to reach out every child.
Meanwhile, Machinga District Health and Environment Committee chairperson Simplex Diwa has urged parents and guardians to ensure their children receive all oral doses in the three rounds of the campaign.
Malawi with support from World Health Organisation is currently conducting a nationwide polio vaccination.
