Now that we finished teaching our classes at Chiputula Primary School, we will be dedicating the rest of the week and weekend to health activities at the District Health Office (DHO). Tomorrow officially starts round three of the DHO’s Polio Vaccination Campaign, but the week has been busy with preparations. Various people from the DHO and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) like the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) have been visiting the 27 health centers in the Mzimba North Region (the region of Malawi where Mzuzu is located) to check whether the health centers have their supplies and vaccination plans for the next four days. Penny and April visited four health centers in Mzuzu, while Miku and Rena visited two sites further away.
After checking with our sites, we all headed to Ezondweni Primary School to watch the campaign launch ceremony. The site was chosen because it is the headquarters of the tribal chief of the region, Inkosi Mtwalo, who oversees land that includes 19 of the 27 health centers that are participating in the Polio Campaign. There were many people in attendance, and performers dressed in traditional clothes danced, sang songs, and acted in skits meant to celebrate the campaign launch.
It was an honor to also participate in the ceremonies. As part of the launch, special guests were invited to administer vaccines to selected children from the community. Tiffany represented our group, and gave one child a polio vaccine. Other guests included Chief Inkosi Mtwalo and representatives from UNICEF and WHO. The ceremonies finished with special words from Chief Mtwalo and some closing remarks. We are excited to see what the next few days hold, since this vaccination campaign is the culmination of months of planning. It will be a great chance to see the fruits of this effort and better understand the process of preparing and executing global health campaigns.
Highlights:
- Visiting sites to check their preparedness for the upcoming Polio Campaign
- Polio Campaign launch ceremony
All the photos were taken by SHANTU (Verbal consent was obtained before taking the pictures)
