Zomba achieves 94% of oral polio vaccination

Zomba District Health Office public relations officer Arnold Mndalira says the district has administered 94 percent of under five oral polio vaccination (OPV) on the first round.

The Ministry of Health and its partners designated administration of OPV  for the country’s under five children for from March 21 to 26 this year.

In an interview on Tuesday, Mndalira said they felt duty-bound to use the campaign week to avoid further spread of the virus as polio transmits rapidly through drinking or eating food contaminated with polio virus.

He attributed the beating of the national OPV target of 80 perent to strategic use of multimedia and community engagement to reach out to the targeted children as some of the factors.

Said Mndalira: “The health workers were strict in door to door vaccination so that even when the parents or caregivers were sick or busy with other things the children were still reached within the confines of their homes.”

Speaking separately, Sub-Traditional Authority Nkapita said his subordinates organised engaged community members who spread the messages advocating for OPV during the night.

 “The costs that families and the government may incur to cure polio might be channeled to other national development activities if all children prevented polio by getting vaccinated early,” he said.

The country is projected to run similar mass vaccination campaigns in April, May and June.