RDC deploys police to enforce polio vaccination
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at one of the schools in Wakiso District last week. Photo / Joseph Kiggundu
What you need to know:
- The deployment of security personnel comes after some health workers were denied access in many private nurseries and primary schools to vaccinate children under the age of five.
The Wakiso Resident District Commissioner, Ms Justine Mbabazi, has deployed police and soldiers to join health workers in carrying out the polio vaccination exercise in the district.
The deployment of security personnel comes after some health workers were denied access in many private nurseries and primary schools to vaccinate children under the age of five.
“I received complaints from the district health officer, Mr Mathias Lugoloobi and the Wakiso education officer, Mr Fredrick Kiyingi that many private schools have totally failed to allow health workers to vaccinate children while at school. I am in the field with my security officers to see that all children are vaccinated,” she said.
She added: “As of now, some head teachers have been arrested for refusing children to be vaccinated. They will be prosecuted. These children are for the country not only parents or schools, and the same children have a right to be vaccinated.”
The assistant district health officer, Dr Betty Nabuganda, who is spearheading the vaccination exercise, said Wakiso received 680,000 doses of polio vaccines.
She acknowledged that her team has faced some challenges while implementing the exercise.
“It’s true many of our health workers have been locked outside schools and that’s why we sought support from the RDC. We are now focusing mostly on those schools which denied us access and within two days we shall have concluded the exercise,” Ms Nabuganda said.
She added that Mr Kiyini wrote to schools seeking permission to allow children to be vaccinated in vain.
“When we asked the schools why they had denied us access, they said we should first get the permission from the parents,” she said.
The Wakiso District Health Educator, Mr Bonny Nakunda, applauded parents who have embraced the exercise and encourages those shunning the exercise to reconsider their decision.
“You know behaviour change is a gradual process, which takes some time but we ask parents and schools to avail us children to be vaccinated” said Nakunda.
Dr Lugoloobi called upon local council leaders to sensitise the public on polio vaccination.
“It seems local councils have not done their work to sensitise communities; that could be the reason we still have resistance in some schools and families. LCs were given at least Shs40,000 [Shs10,000 each day for each LC1 chairman] for the exercise. So I call upon them to account for it by sensitising the public,” said Dr Lugoloobi.
When contacted about the issue, many school heads refused to comment.
However, one head teachers, who preferred to speak on condition of anonymity, said: “We have no right over these children. If you want to vaccinate them, first contact the parents and we shall allow you to do so.”
