By Aggrey Baba
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Dr. Diana Atwine has warned that poor hygiene in homes, workplaces and urban communities is adding to Uganda’s health burden, calling for greater emphasis on prevention alongside the ongoing national vaccination drive.
Atwine made the call on Thursday at Wakiso Health Centre IV as the Ministry of Health launched the five-day National Measles-Rubella Immunization Campaign targeting children aged nine months to 59 months.
The campaign, running from October 1 to 5, seeks to close immunity gaps and strengthen children’s protection against measles and rubella, with all eligible children expected to receive the vaccine regardless of whether they were previously vaccinated.
But while rallying parents to take their children for immunization, Atwine said the Ministry’s recent national cleaning exercise had exposed another challenge (poor hygiene in communities) that requires urgent attention.
“We started the national cleaning exercise, and found that there’s a lot of poor hygiene in people’s homes, workplaces and even in our towns. This is really affecting our people,” Atwine said.
She explained that poor hygiene eventually translates into a bigger burden for health facilities as people develop preventable illnesses and seek treatment.
Dr. Atwine’s message was that protecting children from disease requires a combination of interventions, with immunization serving as a critical first line of protection while families also maintain clean surroundings, provide proper nutrition and make use of routine health services.
“We have come here to talk about immunization, but we want to remind our women to use family planning. We also want them to ensure that their children receive proper nutrition,” she said.
The PS further urged parents not to treat mass vaccination campaigns as a substitute for routine healthcare, saying children should continue to be taken to nearby health facilities for regular assessment and other services.
“We cannot be doing campaigns all the time. We want our children to grow, and to be taken to health facilities that are near them and receive the vaccines,” Atwine said.
Wakiso was chosen to host the national launch as the Ministry seeks to reach children in a rapidly growing and highly mobile population, where health workers face the challenge of ensuring that no eligible child is missed.
The Ministry is calling on parents and caregivers to present all children aged nine months to 59 months for vaccination during the five-day exercise. The vaccine is being provided free of charge through health facilities, outreach points and schools.
At the launch, Health Minister Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, together with Dr. Atwine personally immunized children as the nationwide exercise got underway.
Dr. Atwine also praised Village Health Teams (VHTs) for helping health workers reach households and called for cooperation between parents, schools, community leaders and health workers throughout the campaign.
The Ministry is implementing the exercise with support from health and development partners, including WHO, UNICEF, Gavi and other organizations.
The campaign will run until October 5, with the Ministry urging families to use the exercise not only to protect children against measles and rubella, but also as an opportunity to strengthen their wider commitment to preventive healthcare. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
