Vaccination campaign in Mogadishu

A Polio vaccination campaign began in Mogadishu on Tuesday, 21 November. World Health Organisation (WHO), Somalia, polio coordinator Nathalie Van De Vyer told IRIN that the campaign would take three days and involved 411 teams consisting of two vaccinators each. “They will do house-to-house vaccinations of all under-five children in Mogadishu,” she told IRIN. The operation is being conducted jointly by UNICEF Somalia, and WHO Somalia, and is part of the worldwide National Immunization Day (NID) campaign to eradicate polio. The first and second round of NID was carried out in Mogadishu, in May and June, and later in September and October. The campaign in Mogadishu is being carried out entirely by Somali staff of the two agencies, since no expatriate staff is allowed into Mogadishu, Van De Vyer said. Security problems had not prevented the exercise. “You will always have some hassles, but you can have that in Nairobi,” she added.