The Mayor of the city of Lilongwe, Councilor Richard Banda has asked chiefs to play a vital role during the polio vaccination exercise for it to be successful.
He was speaking on Tuesday at Mtandire ground in Lilongwe during the launch of a polio vaccination exercise.
Banda said polio is a dangerous disease that attack children hence the country needs to take the exercise seriously.
“For the exercise to be successful we will need our leaders from various communities to sensitize people on the importance of this vaccine. As you are aware, other religions do not accept their faithful’s to seek medical treatment, that’s why we are here to ask them to allow their followers to be vaccinated.
“Let us all work together and put more effort to ensure that all children in this country have been vaccinated. This will help us to reduce but also stop the virus from spreading,’’ he said.
In his remarks, Director of Health and Social Services (DHSS) for Lilongwe Dr. Wilson Ching’ani pleaded with the community to vaccinate all the children as this will help them prevent the disease.
“This vaccine has no side effects to the children, rather it helps to reduce the spread of the virus and also protect children from polio.
“We are ready to vaccinate all the children in Lilongwe and therefore ask chiefs from to ensure that the exercise is being conducted smoothly,’’ he said.
Lilongwe District Council will carry out the exercise from 12 to 15 July, 2023 with a projected 1.5 million children under the age of 15 expected to be vaccinated.
