BY JOACKIM KULE MUHESI
Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu has welcomed the introduction of malaria vaccination campaign among the Ugandan citizens.
Government has introduced a malaria vaccine into the routine immunization program as one of the key milestones that Uganda has achieved in her efforts to have a malaria free country by 2030.
It is believed that malaria still remains the highest contributor to deaths of children who are less than 5 years-old in the whole country, making the country third highest contributor to malaria cases at 5.1% and the eighth highest contributor to the global malaria deaths at 3.2%.
The Cultural Institution pronounced her support to the campaign against malaria today during an engagement meeting with the Ministry of Health. The engagement meeting was aimed at involving the Kingdom leadership in the programme so that they can help in amplifying and sensitizing the public about the need to fight malaria through vaccination.
Obusinga Deputy Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Benson Kule Baritazale, who described the vaccination program as timely, appealed to the stakeholders to appreciate the step reached by the government to prevent malaria among the people.
He assured the Ministry of Health that as a Cultural Institution, they would accelerate the information to the grass root levels for the subjects to appreciate the campaign.
The District Health Officer, Dr. Amon Bwambale indicated that on a quarterly basis, at least 40,000 children are tested positive for malaria in Kasese district.
He attributed the challenge to the people’s low attitude towards sleeping under treated mosquito nets and the prevalence of rampant staggering water bodies.
The Ministry of Health’s Commissioner for Maternal and Child Health, Dr. Richard Mugahi, said that the vaccination program would officially be rolled out in April, beginning with children aged 6 -18 months.
Dr. Mugahi stressed that malaria had been included on the list of immunizable diseases, which were formerly six but have been expanded to fourteen.
ENDS