Soroti receives over Shs400m for mass yellow fever vaccination

Soroti City and district have received over Shs400 million to carry out the free mass yellow fever vaccination.

Soroti City got shillings 108million while the district received Shs332 million.

The yellow fever vaccination campaign will run from April 2-8 for both the city and the district, targeting locals aged 1-60.

Soroti City acting supervisor for maternal and child health Sr Constance Acanit told Monitor that they will be targeting public places.

"Our target is to capture all the schools, public places and house to house visits and all the children must be vaccinated," she said on Monday.

However, Acanit expressed worry over the funds allocated for the city saying it is little compared to the activities to be carried out.

She appealed to parliament to reconsider adding them funds to effectively carry out the work.

 According to her, only 30 of the 100 teams they submitted to conduct the exercise have been approved, which she said could push the vaccination beyond its timeline.  

Soroti Resident City Commissioner Peter Pex Paak called upon all the teams to actively participate for effective monitoring of the project.

City health inspector Moses Amolo explained that the first four days are specifically for schools and as he pledged to ensure full coverage.  

Meanwhile, Janet Alabo, the acting assistant District Health Officer, has encouraged parents and caretakers to take their children for immunization.

According to the ministry of health, yellow fever is a viral disease transmitted through bites of infected mosquitoes.

The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that vaccination is the major preventative measure against the disease because it is highly effective, generally safe and relatively cheap.

Uganda, with support from partners in line with global strategy to eliminate yellow fever epidemics ( EYE) by 2026, introduced countrywide yellow fever vaccination at 9 months in October 2022.