By : Binta Jaiteh
The Ministry of Health (MOH) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), will today embark on the second round of polio vaccination immunization campaigns across the country. This second round of the vaccination campaign targets children under 5, intending to vaccinate 4, 27, 481 children.
Addressing journalists at a press briefing in Kotu on Wednesday, the program manager of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), Sidat Fofana said polio is a specific virus that, if we allow it to spread a lot of children will be paralyzed and eventually lead to death.
“ Anytime such vaccination campaigns are conducted, people need to understand that the lives and health of millions are at stake,” he warned.
He noted that the ministry wants to have better coverage than the previous campaign arguing that there are few issues but that the ministry will work to ameliorate the situation.
“We are fighting a disease and the disease cannot be eradicated when people are not vaccinated,” he charged.
Mr. Fofana outlined that the last time the Ministry did a major campaign was in 2014, and since then a lot of infrastructure development has occurred with many growth centersspringing up in Kanifing, Kombo South, and Kombo North. “As a result, we felt that the number of teams should be boosted adding that partners also added funding.”
He thanked chiefs for playing a key role in making sure that people in their constituencies had trust in the vaccines.
The Program Officer Expanded Program Immunization Mbayang Johm maintained that the vaccines have been approved for use by World Health Organization and the government through the medical control agency.
“Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under 5 years of age. The virus is transmitted from person to person and it is spread mainly through the fecal-oral route, or less frequently, by a common vehicle. Polio outbreak was declared in The Gambia in July 2024 through environmental surveillance,” he asserted.
Mrs. Johm also assured all of the safety of the vaccines as it is effective, safe, and have no side effects.