Title: Vaccinating children in the DRC: an essential campaign to boost community immunity and health
Introduction :
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is embarking on a massive vaccination campaign, in partnership with UNICEF and WHO, to protect more than 23 million children under the age of 5 against poliomyelitis. This initiative aims to strengthen the immunity of children, but also to prevent the spread of the disease within the community. In this article, we will examine the importance of this vaccination campaign and the measures taken to ensure its success.
Epidemiological context:
The DRC faces a worrying situation with regard to poliomyelitis, with co-circulation of poliovirus strains and an extension of the epidemic in neighboring countries. About 50% of all poliovirus strains from the African region are reported in the DRC. This situation requires an urgent and coordinated response to control the spread of the disease.
Vaccination campaign objectives:
The vaccination campaign in the DRC aims to reach more than 23 million children under the age of 5. It will be carried out in two blocks, covering 519 health zones in 26 provinces of the country. The aim is to administer two drops of oral vaccine to each child to boost their immunity against poliomyelitis.
Measures taken to ensure the success of the campaign:
To guarantee the effectiveness of the vaccination campaign, the Congolese government and its partners have adopted several measures. First of all, reinforced supervision is put in place at all levels to ensure the quality of vaccination. In addition, the use of Open Data kit allows real-time evaluation of campaign implementation.
Sweeps are also organized in health zones where many children have not been vaccinated, in order to reach all children. Community helpers and independent agents are mobilized to help vaccinate households that have not been visited.
In addition, communication efforts are deployed to sensitize political authorities, community and religious leaders, as well as the general population on the importance of vaccination. Messages are disseminated through the media, posters are distributed within communities and community relays are trained and mobilized to support the campaign.
Conclusion :
The ongoing vaccination campaign in the DRC to protect children against poliomyelitis is a crucial step in the fight against this disease. By boosting children’s immunity, this initiative will help reduce the risk of the disease spreading within the community. Supporting these vaccination efforts is essential to ensure the health and well-being of Congolese children and the entire population