Adamawa: Anti-Malaria Vaccines Mobilised For Kids - WHO

As part of its efforts for the complete worldwide eradication of Malaria, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has concluded plans to immunise nearly a million children in Adamawa State against malaria.

The organisation disclosed on Wednesday that it had procured 4.4 million doses of anti-malaria vaccine to protect 977,843 Adamawa children under five years old against malaria parasites.

The Malaria Program Officer of WHO, Dr IniAbasi Nglass who disclosed the plan during a workshop in Yola on Wednesday, said more than 9,000 volunteers had been trained to implement the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) program across the 21 local government areas of Adamawa State.

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Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention is described as an effective intervention to prevent malaria in those most vulnerable to the disease’s effects, involving administering monthly doses of antimalarial drugs to children aged 3-59 months during peak malaria transmission season.

The State Programme Manager, Adamawa State Malaria Elimination Programme, Benjamin Gubi, said the trained personnel would be deployed in teams for the house-to-house SMC vaccination campaign.

He explained that it is a four-course campaign by which every child is to be immunised once every month for the next four months: June, July, August and September.

“You may observe that the 4.4 million doses of vaccine will go more than four doses to the targeted 977843 children; this is because of certain expectations, including the likelihood of repeat doses for children who for example vomit a dose administered on them,” he explained.

He added that, in effect, over a million children may eventually be covered in the anti-malaria campaign in Adamawa State.

 

Africa Today News, New York

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