BUJUMBURA/CANKUZO January 17th (ABP) – The health province of Bujumbura (western Burundi) organized Friday afternoon a day of social mobilization in favour of the week dedicated to the health of mother and child 2nd edition 2021, through a vaccination and monitoring campaign against measles and rubella dated from January 25 to 29, 2022, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
Opening the day’s proceedings, the governor of Bujumbura province, Mr. Désiré Nsengiyumva said that when children and pregnant mothers are not vaccinated, that is detrimental to the health of the population, which becomes sickly and does not produce. He also noted the objectives set during the previous vaccination campaign and called on the stakeholders to pull out all the stops, each in their own way, to make this campaign a success.
The delegate of the Extended Vaccination Program (EPI), Dr. Sandra Bienvenue Nkeshimana indicated that albendazole will be administered to all children from one year to 14 years old throughout the Burundian territory, the number of which amounts to 5,142,999 and the deworming with albendazole of 514,364 pregnant women from the 2nd trimester. They will give praziquantel to 1,640,051 children in the health districts of Kabezi and Isare. Vitamin A will be administered to 2,118,218 children and measles and rubella vaccine to children aged 9 to 59 months.
She recommended that this activity be evaluated at the end of each day to see if it is going well and that there is an exchange of information on a WhatsApp group that will be created for this purpose.
It was noted that during the first round of vaccination in 2021, the vaccination coverage was not total (100%) for certain antigens except for albendazole.
The medical director of the health province of Bujumbura, Dr. Joël Nibigira, reported that rumours, sects that refuse their followers to be vaccinated, especially in Nyabiraba, Kabezi and Mutambu communes, hinder the smooth running of vaccination and asked that the administration is involved in mobilizing the people for vaccination.
In Cankuzo (east), Governor Boniface Banyiyezako appealed to the population to respond massively to the Mother-Child Health Week campaign. It was in a provincial mobilization meeting for the 2nd edition 2021 mother-child health week organized on Friday January 14, 2022, by the Provincial Health Office (BPS) in Cankuzo, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
Children 6-59 months will benefit from measles and rubella vaccines, vitamin A and Albendazole during the campaign. Albendazole deworming is also planned for pregnant women up to 3 months old and children aged 1 to 14 years.
Those activities will take place at the various health canters, mobile sites (schools) as well as advanced sites (choice villages).
To the question of the confusion of that vaccination with that of Covid-19 which could prevent children from responding massively to this campaign, the participants undertook to raise awareness door-to-door with the help of the administrative staff. at the base and community health workers. That was considered to be one of the strategies to be used in order to have the maximum possible number of target children to be vaccinated.
In addition, parents violating these planned activities will be sanctioned in accordance with the law. That was mentioned because children were observed engaging in different activities during the vaccination campaign of the first edition.
Mr. Banyiyezako called on the participants to devote themselves body and soul to this sensitization. As for the population, he urged them to participate massively in the campaign because, as has been said, no child can remain without being vaccinated.
It was recalled that all these activities will take place in compliance with the rules of protection against the Covid-19 pandemic.
During this week, for the promotion of good nutrition, cooking demonstrations will also be organized at the health centers of the Cankuzo health district, activities that will be implemented by the mothers of light. That method will be applied in 6 pilot health districts at the national level.
Note that there will be an interruption of the indoor spraying work against mosquitoes during that vaccination campaign.