Mukono suspends mass polio immunisation campaign over Ebola

Mukono district has suspended the mass polio immunisation process until further notice due to the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease in Uganda.
The District Health Officer (DHO), Dr Stephen Mulindwa said they were supposed to have a mass immunisation exercise in all parts of the district for three days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) but failed due to the fear of spreading Ebola in communities.

"We were supposed to move door-to-door carrying out immunisation of zero to five years but we can't due to the deadly Ebola virus disease," he said over the weekend.
However, the residents accused the district officials of failing to extend to them oral vaccines whose availability was earlier announced by ministry of health. 

Ms Sarah Nakilyoowa, a resident of Watoni village said the DHO was risking their children's lives by not giving them the vaccines.
"If the health team has Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) then DHO should give them a go ahead but if they don't have, he is right to suspend the exercise," Ms Nakilyoowa said.
Mr Alex Kiyaga, a resident of Kauga village said Ebola should not be an excuse for children to fail to receive the vaccine, noting that there has been Covid-19 but children received polio immunisation early this year.
In his rebuttal, the DHO said the village health teams have protective equipment but cannot put the residents at risk of being infected.

The Ministry of Health had targeted 8.7 million children aged zero to five years of age in a nationwide door-to-door campaign from 4 to 10 November 2022, as part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Rotary International and other partners.
The campaign is the second phase of the response to the circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus detected in an environmental sample in Lubigi in July 2021. It was launched by Minister of Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng during the commemoration of World Polio Day 2022 and the national launch of Uganda's second OPV2 campaign.

While launching the door-to-door immunization campaign, Dr Aceng said immunization is an important aspect of health system strengthening: "The resilience of the health system also depends on immunization at community level. We are working hard, with the support of our partners, to improve the capacity of our health system."
Recognizing the ongoing threat posed by population movements, including refugees during the Ebola outbreak and COVID-19, Dr Aceng said her ministry remains committed to taking all necessary steps to ensure that every child receives essential routine immunisation services, including polio vaccination.