Kasungu District is nearing its measles-rubella vaccination target after reaching 80 percent coverage by the third day of the ongoing supplementary vaccination campaign.
The District Health Office says the progress puts the district on course to vaccinate all targeted children before the supplementary immunisation exercise ends on September 25.
Kasung District Health Office spokesperson Isaac Mwavuli said that about 80 percent of the estimated 270,000 children targeted in Kasungu have already received the measles-rubella vaccine.
He attributed the progress to intensified community mobilisation carried out by the Malawi Red Cross Society and other partners, including door-to-door awareness campaigns aimed at encouraging parents and guardians to have their children vaccinated.
Mwavuli said health authorities remain optimistic that the district will reach its 100 percent target by the end of the campaign.
Malawi Red Cross Society Kasungu District chairperson Richard Mvula said the organisation has deployed volunteers across communities to address myths, misconceptions, and misinformation surrounding vaccines.
Mvula said the volunteers are engaging households and community members with accurate information to help improve vaccine uptake.
The nationwide measles-rubella supplementary vaccination campaign is running from September 21 to 25 and targets 5.8 million children aged between nine months and nine years across Malawi.
To support the campaign, the Malawi Red Cross Society has deployed 1,510 volunteers in Kasungu, Mzimba, Lilongwe, Dedza, Balaka, Blantyre and Nsanje with support from the American Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
