ONMA MCE Commissions Polio Vaccinators …50,000 Children Targeted

The Okaikwei North Municipal Chief Executive, Boye Laryea has tasked parents and care givers in the Municipality to ensure their children take part in the polio vaccination exercise.

This he said would prevent the children who he described as the future of the country from contracting the disease.

Mr. Laryea explained that children all over the world children are great assets to every country.

The ONMA MCE speaking at the launch of the first round polio vaccination exercise in the Municipality in Accra said the government has decided to vaccinate the children in order to prioritize their development agenda.

Mr. Laryea indicated that the exercise is a further push by the government to eradicate polio from the country instead waiting for the disease to attack the children before taking any action.

He disclosed that in the Municipality some 50,000 children are expected to be vaccinated with about 6,000 vaccinators tasked to undertake the exercise.

While stressing that the exercise is not a new thing in the Municipality, the ONMA MCE told the beneficiary mothers to be vigilant and not pay any amount of money for the exercise.

The Municipal Health Director, Dr. Nana Ama Adjabeng assured that the Ghana Health Service and its allied agencies have declared the vaccine safe for every child, the reason mothers should not panic that a child will be paralyzed when vaccinated.

She said “we are rather doing this to prevent the child from paralysis, so parents should allow the house to house vaccinators to do their work.”

Mrs. Adjabeng insisted that the three day event which begun on September, 10 to 13 constitutes social mobilizers, vaccinators and volunteers all qualified to administer the vaccine.

The Medical Superintendent of the Achimota Hospital, Dr. Salamatu Nantogma said although, she works at the hospital, she does not want to see any child at the hospital with a case of polio.

This she argues would make the country secure the future of the children growing into responsible adults.

Rotarian Frank Ofori Appiah-Korang, a representative of the Rotary Club, Achimota stated that Rotary and its partners across the world have renewed their commitment to the global efforts to give the final push to end Polio, a vaccine-preventable disease that still threatens children in parts of the world.

He said the activity, on the theme ‘End Polio Now’ was to enforce Rotary International and the Rotary Foundation’s zeal to ensure that the world becomes Polio Free forever.

The Rotary Club sponsored the function with assorted drinks and bottled water worth hundreds of Cedis for distribution to the parents and children at the ceremony.

The ONMA MCE earlier distributed sanitizers to mothers and children as part of measures to further entrench the gains made in the COVID-19 fight.

The second phase of the vaccination campaign would take place from October 8 to 11, 2020.

 

Story by Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson