Morobe Province will launch its measles, rubella and polio campaign on Monday, May 15th.
This follows the launch of the national campaign this week.
Family Health Supervisor at the Morobe Provincial Health Authority, Sr. Patricia Mitiel, said the event will be launched at the Huonville Primary School field in Lae.
“For healthcare facilities rollout, it will be done within their premises or communities and we have a total of 53 recognised healthcare facilities that will work with us on this campaign,” she stated.
“This initiative is led by our National Department of Health with support from World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and Gavi.
“At the provincial level, the Morobe Provincial Health Authority is leading this campaign with the technical support from WHO and UNICEF.
“We are also partnering with the provincial government to have a greater reach of our campaign messages and funding.”
Some important points to take note of:
- The campaign will start on 15th May and go on to 16th June 2023;
- This campaign is a preventative campaign for children vaccination, and it does not have COVID-19 vaccine;
- Measles, rubella and polio can severely harm a child and can even cause death;
- The measles rubella, oral polio vaccine and Vitamin A are essential for all eligible children regardless of their previous vaccination status because it is the best way to protect any child from a severe illness;
- Parents and caregivers must ensure their under five children get vaccinated during the campaign.
One pressing issue affecting the campaign is the delay of funding, resources and materials from the national level to start the campaign on the agreed date set by the national team.
“However, this has been resolved through the committed senior executive management of Morobe Provincial Health Authority and they are providing financial assistance to kickstart the campaign in Morobe.
“The focus is on advocacy, social mobilisation and communication and whenever the national funding reaches the provincial account, we will consider other components of this campaign to have a greater impact.”