Ugandans excited after launch of free Yellow Fever vaccination campaign
A health worker at Lira Regional Referral Hospital gets the Yellow Fever jab on June 8, 2023. PHOTO | CHARITY AKULLO
What you need to know:
- Locals said due to the lack of enough Yellow Fever vaccines in the country, they have been incurring huge costs in getting the jab while others were being denied access to other countries because they did not have Yellow Fever certificates.
A large number of Ugandans have expressed happiness with the Ministry of Health following the launch of the free Yellow Fever vaccination campaign in the country.
Locals said due to the lack of enough Yellow Fever vaccines in the country, they have been incurring huge costs in getting the jab while others were being denied access to other countries because they did not have Yellow Fever certificates.
The launch of the vaccination campaign at Mayor’s Garden, Lira City on Thursday, means Uganda has now joined the rest of the world on the journey to eliminate Yellow Fever by 2026. Those who get vaccinated receive a Yellow Fever certificate.
Ms Mirriam Adongo, a resident of Teso Bar Ward, Lira City West in Lira City who was among the first people to get the jab said: “I’m so excited because today I have been vaccinated against Yellow Fever. It is easy for me to travel now to foreign countries without many challenges.”
Ms Adongo said she had earlier spent over Shs500,000 in search of the Yellow Fever vaccine from faraway health facilities.
“When I wanted to travel to Europe, I had to go to Kampala to get the Yellow Fever vaccine. Now I am happy that the Ministry of Health has brought the services closer to us,” she said.
Mr Boniface Odongo, another resident, said: “The Yellow Fever vaccine we used to get was for only 10 years but now this one is for life. To me, this is a very good initiative by the government of Uganda.”
The Minister of Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng said there was a huge demand for Yellow Fever vaccines across the country.
“We had to organize transport for some groups of people like the church choirs to Kampala for the vaccine whenever they would be going outside the country. They would still pay, but now this is free,” Dr Aceng who doubles as the Lira City Woman Member of Parliament, said.
However, she reminded the public that to achieve the target for the elimination of Yellow Fever, Uganda is left with only three years; therefore, the population should take up vaccination exercise seriously.
