Unicef courts community leaders on polio, Covid-19 vaccinations

The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) country representative Rudoff Schwenk has asked community leaders in Karonga District to mobilise children for the next polio vaccination to contain the disease in the country.

Schwenk made the call at Mwanjabala ground in Paramount Chief Kyungu in the district on Tuesday during an engagement with the clergy and chiefs aimed at raising awareness on the disease among communities.

He said: “As Unicef, we have mobilised resources worth millions of dollars to ensure that children are fully vaccinated against polio and Covid-19. So, it is imperative to use influencers such as the clergy and chiefs to encourage their subjects to go for polio and Covid-19 vaccinations to create a polio-free country.

On his part, Senior Chief Karonga urged parents in the district to relay polio and Covid-19 messages to other people so that the campaign leaves no one behind.

In an interview, the guest of honour Bishop Benson Chikapa of Karonga Living Waters Church, said faith and traditional leaders joined hands to woo parents to have their children vaccinated against these two infections to make Malawi a healthy country.

Meanwhile, Karonga District director of health and social services David Sibale said the third round of the polio vaccination campaign will run from August 11 to 14 this year targeting 67 506 under-five children who received or did not receive rounds one and two of the ongoing polio vaccination campaign.

The government declared polio a national public health emergency on February 17 2022, leading to implementation of door-to-door oral polio vaccination for all under-five children.