By Raphael Likaka
The District Health Office (DHO) in Zomba has appealed to the Civil Society Organisations in the District to raise awareness in their respective impact areas on the polio vaccine which will target children below five and will be administered from 21 to 24 March this year.
District Health Education Officer at the Zomba DHO, Arnold Ndalira made the appeal during a meeting on Polio Vaccination with the CSOs that operate in Zomba saying the polio vaccination in Zomba and other parts of Malawi is a response to a polio case that has been registered in Lilongwe recently.
He said the polio vaccination is necessary in order to immunize children from zero age to 5 years against the polio.
He added that the Lilongwe polio case is capable of transmitting the polio virus to other 200 children, hence children are vulnerable if they’re not vaccinated against the Polio.
He noted that polio virus causes paralysis in children and is capable of bringing permanent disability.
“Polio is fast transmittable such that one child can pass the polio virus to other 200 children within a short time,” Ndalira added.
He therefore called on the CSOs to raise wider community awareness to traditional leaders and religious leaders so that they should disseminate the message to their subjects and congregants so that they should be aware of the polio vaccination campaign that starts from 21 to 24 March by the Zomba DHO.
The DHO decided to involve the CSOs knowing that they touch base with the community as such it was easy to pass on the polio vaccination message.
CSOs Chairperson, Sammy Aaron, assured the Zomba DHO that the CSOs will disseminate the messages to traditional and religious leaders and members of different religious faithfuls.
He, therefore, hailed government for engaging the Zomba based CSOs on the polio vaccination campaign.
Aaron also called on all parents in the district to vaccinate their children against polio as falling to vaccinate them is a violation to the right to health services.
“Let me caution parents that refuses to vaccinate their children that we the CSOs will intervene and such parents will face the law,” Aaron added.
A polio case was discovered in Lilongwe earlier this month, the first case in the Malawi in 30 years.
