Nurse Agnes from Bwindi Community hospital prepares and administer the vaccination program during the out reach clinic in Kitahurira, the only Batwa tribe settlement in Mpungu district. She administers Polio and measles vaccinations to newborn children in the community, June 2011. Photo Credit: Andrew Aitchison/Getty Images
Health UgandaThis Country Vaccinated Eight Million Children… in Three Days!
Through its polio vaccination campaign, Uganda vaccinated some 8 million children below the age of five in only three days, a much-needed exercise for the East African country to continue to keep children alive and in good health.
“Our health workers will reach out to different families and I ask the parents and health workers to ensure that we finish this campaign which has been postponed for quite a while,” says the Minister for Health, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng. “There is a big number of unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children under five years.”
The campaign took place from January 14 to 16 countrywide, in a door-to-door fashion. This exercise was made possible in part thanks to Gavi, the vaccine alliance, which donated $8.3 million worth of equipment: 1,311 solar-powered fridges, 124 on-grid fridges, 5 walk-in cold room mono-blocks, and 196 vaccine carriers.
