Ondjiva- The Secretary of State for Public Health, Carlos Alberto de Sousa, on Friday in southern Cunene province, reaffirmed the Angolan Executive's commitment of strengthening vaccination coverage against polio in children under five.
Speaking at the launching of the second phase of the National Polio Vaccination Campaign, which runs from the 13-16 October, he recalled that Angola should be a polio-free country if all the municipalities reach the target of 95% of children under five being vaccinated.
He said that the ministry had scheduled the second round of the vaccine four weeks after the first, in order to halt the circulation of the virus, increasing immunization, so that no child in Angola suffers from polio paralysis.
The Secretary of State added that despite the high coverage rates achieved in the first phase, research has revealed that there are some rural neighbourhoods and villages that have not been completely vaccinated, hence the responsibility to fill gaps.
Carlos de Sousa said that the second round of national vaccination reflects the principle that maintaining the quality of vaccination and achieving the objectives of protecting the country against polio is the right thing to do.
"This second round is an opportunity to demonstrate the political commitment made by the Angolan government to children's health and wellbeing, so we are asking for the involvement of traditional authorities, religious leaders and the whole of civil society to make it a success," he said.
Meanwhile, she said that during the first phase, which ran from 8 to 11 September, the country immunized 5.6 million children, thanks to the tireless work of 8,000 vaccination teams and 2,500 supervisors who, overcoming challenges, managed to reach the most remote areas.
In turn, the National Director of Public Health, Helga Freitas, said that 5.4 million children between the ages of zero and five will be immunized in order to maintain the achievement of eradicating polio and preventing its resurgence in Angola.
Helga Freitas said that the planning of the second phase would make it possible to increase the children's immune level with an additional booster dose, as well as strengthening epidemiological surveillance by carrying out active searches for suspected cases of acute flaccid paralysis in the communities.
As well as polio, he said that vitamin A will be administered in the provinces of Luanda and Huíla that didn't receive it in the first phase.
The campaign will involve 45,645 technicians in 9,52 vaccination teams, 3,367 national mobilizing supervisors, vaccinators and monitors, 218 national and provincial advisors and 208 logisticians.
Cunene's deputy governor for the Economic, Political and Social sector, Apolo Ndinoulenga, called for the involvement of society in mobilizing the population to take part in the campaign, which will be carried out house to house, in health units and outposts set up in neighbourhoods to achieve high vaccination rates.
Apolo Ndinoulenga recalled that Cunene, in the context of the other provinces, has its own particularities where a large part of the population lives in rural areas with peculiar characteristics and difficult access.
Poliomyelitis, also known as polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute contagious disease caused by the poliovirus, which can infect children and adults through direct contact with secretions discharged from the mouths of sick people and may or may not cause paralysis. FI/LHE/ART/DAN/DOJ
