She encouraged mothers to get their children 0-59 months immunized against disability noting that the country depend greatly on the future and well-being of the vulnerable population. Those children who missed the Round Three Madam Madina said must make use of the opportunity during the Round Four campaign.
The Deputy Minister noted the role of husbands in the current exercise and appealed to all men for total support with a view to achieving the desired goal targeting 1. 5 million children nationwide.
Defaulter tracing the Deputy Minister reiterated would be part of the campaign and re-emphasized the need for parents to cooperate with the immunization team noting that it is dangerous for a child to miss any of the vaccine
Madam Rahman reiterated government commitment to provide quality affordable and accessible health care delivery services to its citizens and others living in Sierra Leone, and on behalf of the Minister and the government thanked WHO, UNICEF and Rotary International including the Councils, Religious and Traditional Leaders for their continued support.
The vaccine, Madam Rahman told the Grafton Community and the entire nation is safe and free of cost.
Making his statement on behalf of the UN Country Team, the World Health Organization (WHO) Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) Surveillance Officer, Mr. Balogun Terry congratulated the Ministry of Health and Sanitation for the successful immunization days in February and April and round three in September-October 2016 in which 1,507,447 children were vaccinated achieving over 98 percent coverage.
He also commended Sierra Leone for not recording a single case of polio since February 2010, describing the effort of the Ministry to maintain a resilient zero polio case as significant.
Mr. Terry observed that 1.5 million children under five across the country would benefit at the end of the campaign on October 31, 2016, and appealed to parents and guardians to ensure that all children under age five receive the ‘Marklate’ and other vaccines that they may have missed during the last two campaign.
He underscored the importance of the campaign and reiterated WHO and UNICEF continued support to the government and people of Sierra Leone to ensure that Sierra Leone is polio free.
Other highlights include remarks from the Deputy Chief Medical Officer II, Dr. Amara Jambai, Deputy Programme Manager, Child Health and Expanded Programme on Immunization, Dr. Mariama Murray, Councilor Sheik Ibrahim Conteh of Ward 327 Western Area Rural District and a skit performance depicting the importance of the campaign by Vamboi and Team.
Photo: Credit Kadrie Koroma
