Wambui Virginia @kuivirgie
Harold Kipchumba, a polio survivor and nominated senator who has become the face and advocate for efforts to create a polio-free Kenya, knows all too well the importance of immunisation. At the age of four, he suddenly fell ill and could not walk.
Doctors at the local hospital could not diagnose what he was suffering from. It was only after visiting two hospitals that the puzzle was solved. By then, his condition had worsened and his second leg also weakened, never to fully recover. “If only my mum knew the importance of two polio drops, I would not be using crutches today,” he says.
A lament he repeats often when giving his story. “Immunisation is not a choice, it is everyone’s responsibility and it is a right,” Kipchumba says, his strong conviction evident. “No child should suffer or undergo any pain the way I did, not to mention the stigma and isolation, be it polio or any other preventable disease.
No child should be denied life because of poor choices made by others.” Two years ago, in the midst of the polio outbreak in the Horn of Africa, the Ministry of Health, with support from Unicef and the World Health Organisation (WHO) appointed Kipchumba as the Polio and Immunisation Ambassador for Kenya, giving him a chance to be the face and voice of the disease and to share his story, especially with people who still resist immunisation.
In November 2015, he won the United Nations (UN) Person of the Year award for his relentless advocacy efforts in promoting vaccination against polio. Fresh vaccination campaign concluded The Ministry of Health recently concluded a nationwide polio vaccination exercise that targeted nine million children under five in five days.
Cabinet Secretary for Health Cleopa Mailu said the campaign, which ran in all 47 counties, was aimed at protecting children as well as communities by creating a polio-free Kenya. He added that his ministry will continue to work closely with county governments and all stakeholders to ensure routine immunisations are undertaken across the country.
Why are there frequent polio vaccination campaigns? Risk analysis done by the Ministry of Health in 2015 showed that about 60 per cent of children under five in Kenya were at moderate risk of getting polio in case it found its way into the country again. A recent outbreak occurred in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia from 2013 to 2014 with more than 200 cases.
Why was the new vaccine boycotted? Last year the Catholic Church called for a boycott of the vaccinations, on the basis that the vaccine contained estrogen. They condemned it, alleging that it had possible reactive agents that could cause sterilisation in children.
This came up as a result of reported cases in Kakamega where children were administered a vaccine containing quinine, causing temporary paralysis. Mailu, however, assured the public that the vaccine had been tested by the National Quality Control Laboratory and the Pharmacy and Poisons Board.
It was found to be safe. In addition, it has been tested and approved by WHO and Unicef, who said in a statement that “it would be absurd for the government to order for vaccination using an unsafe drug.”
The post Quest for a polio-free world appeared first on Mediamax Network Limited.