Health Authorities in Nsanje district have disclosed that the district hospital has embarked on a vaccination campaign in which over 140,000 children in the district are expected to be vaccinated against measles and rubella.
Nsanje District Health Officer, Dr Alexander Chijuwa, disclosed this in Nsanje when he briefed the District Executive Committee on the exercise.
Speaking in an interview with Malawi24, Dr Chijuwa said the exercise which will take place from June 12 to June 16 this year will target under five children of between 9 months to 15 years.
“It’s true that Nsanje District hospital has embarked on a campaign that is going to vaccinate all under five children in Nsanje. About 144,290 children between the ages of 9 months old to 15 years have been targeted for the exercise.
“The campaign is not only just to give vaccines but also giving out vitamin A to children and de-worming,” disclosed Dr Chijuwa.
According to Nsanje DHO, this is not a new as Malawi always carry out the exercise in every three years.
Measles is a highly infectious viral illness that can be very unpleasant and sometimes lead to serious complications if one is not treated at a tender age.
The disease is usually spread by bodily fluids – drops of saliva from the mouth, mucus from the nose, coughing or sneezing, and tears from the eyes and it has no medicine to cure.
The campaign will be done under financial support from World Health Organization and UNICEF.
