By Aggrey Baba
Health Minister Dr. Chris Baryomunsi has issued a stern warning to head teachers and school administrators blocking health workers from accessing schools to immunize children, saying such actions amount to breaking the law and could lead to arrest.
Baryomunsi delivered the warning shortly after launching the national Measles-Rubella Immunization Campaign at Wakiso Health Centre IV on Thursday.
The Minister said Uganda’s laws require children to receive immunization and that no school administrator has the authority to prevent health workers from carrying out the exercise.
“The law in Uganda states that children must receive immunization. And therefore anybody who attempts to block immunization of the children is blocking and is breaking the law, and should be arrested,” Baryomunsi said.
He further added that the Ministry had received information that some head teachers were denying health workers access to schools for purposes of vaccinating eligible children.
“We understand there are some misled head teachers and heads of educational institutions who are denying health workers access to the schools for purposes of immunizing the children,” he said.
Baryomunsi warned that the Government would not allow such obstruction to continue, and that school administrators found deliberately stopping the vaccination exercise would face arrest.
“We shall have those head teachers and school managers arrested because they have no right whatsoever to stop the immunization of those children,” he warned.
The Minister questioned the logic of providing education to children while simultaneously preventing them from accessing interventions intended to protect their health, saying it means such people wish those children to get the disease and die.
“So then what is the use of the education which they are providing to them?” Baryomunsi asked.
His warning comes as the Ministry of Health conducts the five-day national Measles-Rubella Immunisation Campaign, targeting children aged 9 to 59 months.
Baryomunsi said the campaign is intended to protect children against measles and rubella and called upon everyone responsible for children to facilitate, rather than obstruct, the exercise.
He specifically appealed to head teachers, school administrators, parents and guardians to cooperate with health workers.
“We call upon head teachers, managers of educational institutions, parents, guardians to cooperate with the Ministry of Health and health workers and ensure that our children get these doses of the measles vaccine,” he said.
The Minister also sought to reassure parents and school administrators about the safety of the vaccines being administered during the campaign, saying the vaccination is for the good of the children’s health.
“Like we have stated, these vaccines are safe, they do not cause any harm,” Baryomunsi said.
The national campaign runs from October 1 to 5, with eligible children being vaccinated free of charge through health facilities, outreach points and other designated vaccination sites, including schools.
Baryomunsi said the cooperation of educational institutions is particularly important because schools provide an effective avenue for health workers to reach large numbers of eligible children.
The Minister’s warning places school administrators at the centre of the Ministry’s mobilization drive, with Baryomunsi making it clear that access to children for immunization should not be frustrated by institutional decisions.
He urged parents and guardians to ensure that their children are available for vaccination during the campaign period and called on school authorities to work with health workers so that no eligible child is left out.
The campaign is part of the Ministry of Health’s efforts to strengthen protection against measles and rubella among children and respond to outbreaks reported in different parts of the country. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
