Health
UGANDA: CAO VOWS TO ARREST PARENTS FOR FRUSTRATING MEASELE RUBELLA VACCINATION
Measles- rubella disease is a highly infectious disease that spreads fast in the population and is one of the leading causes of death among children in Uganda according to the Ministry of Health.
GULU-UGANDA. James Bedijoo Okumu, the Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Gulu District Local Government has vowed to arrest parents who will not immunize their children against measles- rebella disease.
Okumu made the pronouncement on Monday in a third health coordination meeting for mass vaccination against measles and rubella viral infections.
“We have a target for universal coverage of 137220 children, the immunization Act is very clear and so we shall prosecute those ones who will frustrate this program” Okumu warns.
The District is also set to launch the campaign on Tuesday tomorrow at Gulu Main Market ahead on Wednesday when the immunization exercise begins.
The five days exercise is set by the Ministry of health running from 16th to 20th October 2019 targeting all children aged between 9 months to 15 years for measeles- rubella and polio vaccination.
Yoweri Ndiba, the Deputy Acting Health Officer for Gulu told the meeting that the District is fully prepared for the exercise.
He revealed that all the medical supplies have reached the District including 152 million adding that about 250 health workers shall be deployed in the 150 vaccination posts in the 16 Sub Counties.
Measles- rubella disease is a highly infectious disease that spreads fast in the population and is one of the leading causes of death among children in Uganda according to the Ministry of Health.
The disease outbreak was reported in the country since 2010 affecting more than 109 Districts according to report by the Uganda National Expanded Program for Immunization of 2018.
In Gulu according to report by the District Health Department, a total of 372 children were reported to have been infected by the disease with a single case of death recorded since 2018.
The disease is manifested in a patient with server weight loss, cough, damage to the eyes which may cause blindness, damage to ears which may cause deafness and convulsion which may lead to brain damage as well as death according to the Ministry of health.
