Paheja Siririka
The health ministry has noted with concern the low uptake of childhood immunisation, especially against Measles and Rubella, as this makes children susceptible to childhood diseases, risking hospitalisation and even death at a young age.
Health minister Dr Kalumbi Shangula said if every Namibian child or at least 90% of children in the country are up to date with their routine immunisation, then diseases like measles and polio and others will be completely preventable.
He said this yesterday at the launch of the national integrated vaccination campaign, where through the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), the ministry will provide routine immunisation services mostly for children and women of childbearing age nationwide.
This campaign, which runs from 8 to 18 August 2022, aims to ensure the Namibian child is vaccinated and protected from childhood diseases and to prevent Covid-19 disease.
“Immunisation is an essential life-saving service in preventing severe illnesses among children, adults and pregnant women, making it critical in reducing maternal and neonatal deaths,” he said.
Shangula shared the ministry has also recorded a reduction in immunisation of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV), Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV), Rotavirus and Pneumococcal vaccines in recent years.
“These trends may have serious repercussions on the country, particularly with the re-emergence of Wild Polio Virus (WPV) that has been reported in Malawi and Mozambique, as well as the circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Virus (VDPV) in the sub-region,” said Shangula.
He added: “It is of utmost importance that parents and all leaders advocate and ensure children get taken to nearest outreach vaccination site, clinic or hospital to get all vaccines they are eligible for to keep them healthy”.
On the same occasion, Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said, in Namibia, immunisation is a human right, as it provides opportunities to promote integrated services and improve the overall health of recipients.
“A recent Measles outbreak in Omusati region in April 2022 proved our vulnerability to vaccine-preventable diseases. Outbreaks occur every few years in areas with low vaccine coverage and where there is an accumulation of persons who have never been infected or vaccinated,” said Kuugongelwa-Amadhila.
She stated: “We would not have had an outbreak such as the one in Omusati had we had our Measles vaccination coverage of above 95% for the first and second doses”.
World Health Organisation (WHO) country representative Dr Charles Sagoe-Moses added the declining uptake of routine vaccination poses a threat to the return of childhood illnesses that the country has had control over several years.
“Namibia must remain vigilant with its polio surveillance as is the case, and WHO welcomes the integration of MR and other routine immunisation services in this campaign. WHO and indeed the entire UN remains committed to ensuring the Namibian people are protected from preventable diseases and their risk of exposure is reduced,” stated Sagoe-Moses.
United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) country representative Rachel Odete stated the low vaccine coverage makes Namibian children more vulnerable to further outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
“We are here as partners to address and ultimately address SDG 3.2, to ensure that every child is reached, no child is too far to be reached and protected from preventable diseases,” said Odete.
She said as a direct result of immunisation, the world is closer to eradicating diseases like polio and measles deaths – major child killers – that have declined by 73% between 2000 and 2018, saving more than 23 million children.
– psiririka@nepc.com.na