2.5 Million Children Face Health-Polio-Vaccination

About 2,529,000 children are expected to be vaccinated during a nationwide vaccination campaign by the Ministry of Health and partners from October 23-29. The exercise will cover children between the ages 0-59 months, targeting Polio, De-worming and Vitamin A.

Making the disclosure Thursday at the Ministry of Information press conference, National EPI Manager Mary Momolu noted that the MOH is targeting about 955,400 children for the polio vaccination, 843,000 for Vitamin A and 730,600 children with Mebendazole or de-worming medication.

She said the polio vaccine will be given to children between 0-59 months, vitamin A to all children aged 12-59 months, while the de-worming tablets will be for children between 12-59 months. She explained that Liberia is part of the global fight to eradicate polio, adding that the objective is to prevent the importation of the disease into Liberia.

According to Momolu, the advocacy and social mobilization activities are ongoing nationwide to inform the public about the campaign so that children within the age range can be vaccinated.

“We urge parents to make sure their children receive the required vaccinations and medications with which vaccinators will visit homes in a door-to-door vaccination campaign across the country,” she pointed out. It can be recalled that since 2010 Liberia has not recorded any case of the polio virus.