Lira city health workers to launch Malaria vaccination among children in April
By Denish Ongora (denish.ongora@vol.co.ug)
Lira
Health workers in Lira City are preparing to launch a malaria vaccination campaign for children in April next year.
Today, officials from the Ministry of Health visited Lira city to brief health workers on the upcoming vaccination exercise.
Children under five years old will receive the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine in four phases: at six, seven, eight, and 18 months.
The vaccine specifically targets the Plasmodium falciparum strain of malaria, to help reduce the severity of the disease in infected individuals.
Kajjoba Edward, a social behavior change officer, explained that the vaccine is focused on this specific malaria strain, which significantly lowers malaria virulence among patients.
Lira City Medical Officer Dr. Bernard Otucu said malaria remains the leading cause of illness at Lira Regional Referral Hospital, with children under five being the most vulnerable group affected by the disease.
Lira City Deputy Mayor, Rebecca Alwedo Ogole, emphasized that malaria is particularly fatal among children because its symptoms often go unnoticed in the early stages.
Uganda is among several countries in Africa, including Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Niger, and Sierra Leone, that have been identified by the World Health Organization to receive a total of 18 million doses of malaria vaccines.
