The Mandera department of health has begun a massive measles vaccination campaign, aimed at eradicating the disease in the region.
This follows the Ministry of Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha’s directive for concerted efforts to curb further spread of the disease in some seven counties namely Marsabit, Wajir, Garissa, Nairobi, Turkana, Mandera and West Pokot.
The Mandera County director of Public Health Isaac Adan said the exercise targets 155,000 children in its nine sub counties.
Adan urged residents to cooperate with the health officials who will be moving from house to house, administering the jab to children between the ages of 9 – 59 months.
He said so far the county has recorded 140 positive cases of the disease in parts of Lafey and Mandera West.
Mandera East Central chief Alinoor Mohamed urged the parents in the area to avail their children for immunization to ensure their well-being.
Alinoor said government will do everything possible to reach out to all the targeted children, even as reports emerged that parents of some of the infected children were hiding them in their homes for fear of being stigmatized
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has warned that the neighbouring countries of Ethiopia and Somalia have poor health infrastructure, hence the likelihood of more cross border infections.
By Adan Mohamed
