The governor of Ituri province, General Luboya Nkashama, said on Tuesday October 8, on the sidelines of the launch of the third phase of the polio vaccination campaign, that 193,054 children under one year old were not vaccinated. not benefited from at least one dose of vaccine in 2023.
In its message, the provincial authority indicated that among the causes which explain this high number of unvaccinated children, there is in particular the refusal of certain parents who are resistant to vaccination, but also religious beliefs.
This officer asks parents to make their children available to receive this vaccine, in order to compensate for this immune deficiency and recalled that vaccinating children constitutes a fundamental right for them and a duty for parents.
He also underlined the dangers they face by being exposed to serious illnesses likely to lead to death or disability, particularly with regard to poliomyelitis, measles or meningitis, which are nevertheless preventable by vaccination.
General Luboya says he is convinced that it is imperative to urgently strengthen vaccination coverage in Ituri through routine vaccination and mass campaigns to remedy the situation and protect these children from danger.
He calls on all stakeholders, particularly community leaders and other associations, to pool efforts in order to achieve the expected objective of vaccinating all children aged 0 to 59 months against poliomyelitis in Ituri.
This campaign will take place from Thursday October 10 to Saturday October 12.
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