Luanda – At least 5.549,140,00 is the number of children between the ages of zero and four to be vaccinated against polio during a national campaign taking place across the country from 17 to 19 of the current month, said Wednesday in Luanda Province the national director of Public Health, Helga Freitas.
According to her, the campaign which will take place in two phases, is due to the confirmation, on 25 January this year, by the World Health Organisation's Reference Laboratory in South Africa, of the existence of vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (PVDV2) in environmental samples of sewage water collected in Luanda.
Helga Freitas said that the isolation occurred at polio environmental surveillance sampling in the satellite town of Sequele, Cacuaco municipality, on 5 December 2023.
The government official said that the campaign will be launched on Friday in the commune of Calumbo, in the municipality of Viana, Luanda Province, and explained that it would be door-to-door vaccination and at the usual posts, namely health centres, schools, childcare centres and markets.
He also said that the eradication of polio is a global commitment, as well as the country's commitment to protecting children's health and making the country free of this disease, and advised parents and carers with children who are old enough to be vaccinated to make them available for the purpose without embarrassment, both at the vaccination centres and in their homes.
In turn, the coordinator of the Extended Vaccination Programme in the province of Luanda, Felismina Neto, stated that logistics has a target group to be reached in the number of children, adding that in the capital it is planned to reach around 60% by vaccinating 1.4 million children.
“We are carrying out campaigns because there are neighbouring countries that have a polio outbreak and, due to the mobility of people, the transportation of biological agents must be prevented”, she explained.
Felismina Neto explained that once polio has taken hold in the body, it may not kill, but its sequelae are irreversible and nothing can be done to recover from it. The vaccine is the safest intervention to stop this evil that could devastate the lives of Angolan children.
Luanda has had no recorded cases of wild poliovirus since 2010, when one was reported in the municipality of Cazenga.
The specialist said that Luanda province has low coverage of vaccination (IPV), which is injectable polio, hence the need for routine reinforcement in health units and fixed posts.
A total of 11,300 brigade members will be involved and mobilised for this campaign.
EVC/PA/MRA/jmc
