Mandera County has commemorated World Polio Day in a bid to sensitise the public about polio.
The campaign aims to reach children under two years old with missed vaccine doses, including those for polio.
The day is celebrated worldwide to create awareness of the importance of polio vaccination to protect every child from the devastating disease.
Addressing the locals, Mandera chief officer for health Mrs. Rahma Ibrahim urged the residents to come out in large numbers and take children to hospital for vaccination.
Ibrahim also called upon the locals to be mindful of pregnant mothers and take their new-born babies to hospital once they deliver, and noted that 16 cases have been reported this year which turned out to be negative. She added last year, they received two cases.
Ibrahim also added added that Mandera borders two neighbouring countries with weak health infrastructure thus jeopardizing the situation in Mandera
As the raging drought bites, children below the age of five years develop a weaker immune system thus exposing them to several diseases.
Abdi Osman, a champion of a polio-free vaccine, sensitized the locals on the importance of the polio vaccine. He said that he is a victim of polio and as a result got paralysed.
Polio is a highly infectious, crippling, and sometimes fatal disease that can be avoided with a vaccine. Children under the age of five are most vulnerable to contracting polio. Polio has no cure but the vaccine given multiple times can protect a child for life.
By Adan Mohamed
