By Dorica Mtenje
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-In line with the international Health Regulations (IHR), the country has rolled out polio immunization which will run from March 21 to 24, 2022.
Polio vaccination campaign is targeting 2.9 million children below the age of five years.
The Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda said on Sunday, March 20, 2022 during the official launch of Polio Mass Vaccination Campaign at Chileka Secondary in Lilongwe.
Kandodo said the country has immediately put in place additional activities in order to contain the situation of polio in the country.
Chiponda said the first step government declared National Public Health Emergency which president Lazarus Chakwera did last month in February.
She said Immediately after that announcement the country received experts from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative who came and are still here supporting the country with expertise and finances in this fight against polio.
Chiponda said ministry of health have set up Emergence Operations Committees (EOC) at National and District levels meetings happening on a daily basis.
“A risk assessment of the situation has been done with support from partners, We are also working very closely with our neighboring countries because diseases know no borders,” said Chiponda.
She encouraged everyone in the country to take all the children who are less than five years old, regardless of whether they already received polio vaccine or not to get vaccinated.
The minister therefore remind the nation that “We still have the other health problems with us which we also need to deal with in particular the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Let us do the polio vaccinations while observing the COVID-19 prevention and control measures”.