Dr. Moriku Joyce Kaducu, Ugandan Minister of State for Primary Health Care has said that government will introduce a fresh nationwide immunization exercise to avail people who missed out due to challenges informed by COVID-19 pandemic an opportunity to get immunized.
The immunization exercise which will be done under the Integrated Child Health Days (ICHD) will be aimed at, among others, build on the resolve of the government to minimize preventable morbidity, mortality and disability due to diarrhea, pneumonia, measles and others.
According to Dr Kaducu, government targets to vaccinate over 17 million children that missed out due to lockdown restrictions.
Kaducu said, “The Integrated Child Health Activities October 2020 follows two disruptions in October 2019 due to Measles-Rubella campaign and April 2020 due to COVID 19 lockdown. As a consequence, there is a backlog of; 1.2M children aged 10 and 11 years who need vaccination against cancer of the cervix [and] 17.3M children below 15 years who need deworming to prevent blood loss to worms.”
Dr Jessica Nsungwa Sabiti, Commissioner in-charge Child Health, stated that the government plans to prosecute parents who refuse to immunize their children.
She said, “Our main aim is to educate people and tell them the importance of vaccination and this is going to be very critical because tomorrow when the vaccine for COVID comes and finds these kinds of people unwilling to be vaccinated[then] we are going to have a big problem.
“So in the future that means you can be persecuted. So once we get the law aligned, it will become very difficult for people who have not had vaccination to have school entry and may not also have access to other social services like health services.”