People respond to anti-polio campaign

Thousands of Namibians flocked to polio vaccination points on the second day of a mass immunisation campaign on Thursday, as the death toll from the virus outbreak rose to 15. Even large retail stores in the capital, Windhoek, were turned into mini-clinics as shop managers and assistants helped administer the polio vaccines. The immunisation points were operational from 7am to 9pm. Dr Kalumbi Shangula, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health and Social Services, described the public response as overwhelming and "more than excellent". The polio outbreak was first reported on 8 May in the small town of Aranos, 395km south of Windhoek. The poliovirus, which has affected all but two of the country's 13 regions, has been identified as an Indian strain, which was also reported in Angola last year. On Wednesday, President Hifikepunye Pohamba appealed to Namibian residents to turn up at vaccination points. "We are aiming at 100 percent coverage," said Pohamba in a televised address. "I am told that health officials will make house to house visits. We aim at accessing everyone." The World Health Organisation's country representative in Namibia, Dr Custodia Mandlhate, commented this week on the return of the virus to Namibia after over 10 years of being polio-free. "We are shocked and asking ourselves what went wrong," she said at the official launch of the national imunisation campaign. "Vaccine preventable diseases like polio still remain a major cause of morbidity, disability and mortality especially among young children in Africa." The UN Children's Fund (Unicef) country representative, Khin-Sandi Lwin, said the latest outbreak was a hard lesson. "Let us ensure that this outbreak is an isolated case and not the beginning of a trend of further reversals in maternal health, child nutrition, malaria and other vaccine preventable diseases in which Namibia had been showing signs of clear progress." The second round of vaccinations will be held in July, followed by another campaign in August, which will target children aged under-five. The children will also be vaccinated against measles and receive Vitamin A supplements.