Closing immunisation gap

Children at play fill an open ground at Lil Poppins Private Junior Primary School in Ndirande, the most populous township in Blantyre City.

It is a Thursday morning and the learners are gearing up for measles-rubella vaccination in response to an outbreak detected across the country.

As the headteacher calls them to a tree shade, noise slowly gives way to curiosity.

Standing in front of the young audience, Danweck Chale, a disease control and surveillance assistant from Ndirande Health Centre, chants a slogan for the emergency vaccination campaign.

“Chikuku!” he exclaims in reference to measles.

“Shegu!” the children reply, shrugging their shoulders, implying a ‘no’.

“Measles is a dangerous disease. We don’t want it, right?” he asks.

“Yes!” they shout.

Nelly receives measles-rubella vaccine in Ndirande Township in Blantyre. | Yvonnie Sakala

The laughter that follows briefly softens the seriousness on the children’s faces.

They are about to receive the measles-rubella vaccine and parents were informed two days earlier that their children would receive the vaccine at school on this day.

“On Tuesday, we were here to request your teachers to communicate with your parents that you are receiving vaccines today,” says Chale.

But behind the scenes, preparations began way before the vaccination team arrived at the hillside school.

Some Malawi Red Cross Society volunteers and health workers went door to door, sensitising parents to the importance of the vaccine. Others visited prayer houses and used mobile vans to spread vaccination information.

“We moved door to door in this whole area, discussing with parents this vaccination. We received positive feedback and those who don’t want their children vaccinated already told the teachers here, ” said volunteer Anne Munthali.

Their goal is to help protect children aged nine months to nine years from measles.

The community mobilisation also meant that children could be reached in their learning space even when their parents were not physically present.

Red Cross deployed 1 510 volunteers in seven districts including Blantyre, Mzuzu, Kasungu and Nsanje to support the campaign. The humanitarian organisation also deployed mobile vans and sponsored radio programmes.

“Malawi Red Cross is a key partner of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in measles-rubella campaign. Our efforts also support hard-to-reach areas with information about the vaccination campaign,” said Red Cross head of social and health services Dan Banda.

Blantyre district chief preventive health officer Innocent Mvula said the district vaccinated 59 percent of the targeted 436 000 children on the second day of the week-long campaign.

“The response from caregivers, guardians, parents and even authorities surpassed our expectations given that there have been frequent vaccination campaigns recently,” he said.

Mvula said community mobilisation and sensitisation was part of the winning formula.

At the school, teachers also played their part. As each child stepped forward to receive the jab, teachers held and reassured those frightened by the syringe.

Four-year-old Nellie Nampoto refused to cry because her mother had told her the vaccine was good for her life.

“Mommy said it will protect me from dangerous diseases,” she said.

After receiving the vaccine, Nellie walked away with a smile, proudly showing her inked finger marked by the health workers.

Minister of Health and Sanitation Madalitso Baloyi launched the campaign to vaccinate 5.8 million children “to close the country’s immunisation gap”.

About 88 percent of children receive the first dose of measles-rubella vaccine during routine immunisation for those aged under-five, but the figure drops to 68 by the second dose.

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