The Ministry of Health has sensitized elders in the Karamoja sub-region to increase the uptake of vaccines among children ahead of the malaria vaccination program.
The Ministry of Health is yet to introduce the malaria vaccine in April, targeting children below five years of age and potentially those below eleven and above months. Health officials have always raised concerns about the low uptake of vaccines among children because of negative cultural beliefs.
On Monday, the health ministry met elders drawn from all nine districts of Karamoja in the district to sensitize them on the importance of malaria vaccines and requested elders to help them rally the parents to embrace the program.
Edward Muganga, the senior public health officer from the Ministry of Health, said that they are engaging cultural leaders to create demand, awareness, and education on the introduction of the malaria vaccine.
He said that the country is still registering high mortality rates of malaria, and the government is injecting a lot of money into ensuring that people get adequate treatment for malaria.
Muganga said they have also established that people are still taking malaria as a usual disease that can be administered using local herbal drugs and other self-medication that they can afford.
Muganga said that they have started engaging the leaders in Karamoja after realizing that the statistics of children dying from malaria were higher in the region.
Simon Peter Nangiro, the Chairperson of the Karamoja Elders Association, said that they are the teachers and the gatekeepers for the community entry as elders.
Nangiro said that no one has the authority to talk to the communities in the Karamoja before seeking permission from the elders. He applauded the Health Ministry for making the right decision to involve the elders in the program so that they are able to spread the information.
Francis Lowot Okori, the spokesperson for Elder in Abim district, said that the role of elders is very important because it is comprised of elders, government structures, and religious groups.
Okori noted that people listen to elders in Karamoja more than government officials and their local leaders.
Okori observed that the government has finally realized the importance of elders in mobilizing the communities, unlike before when they could be sidelined. He said that initially, the elders were only involved in the disarmament programs, and they could be undermined if it’s other developmental projects.
Maria Lochoro, a female councilor for the Elderly in the Loputuk sub-county in the Moroto district, said that they are going to use gatherings like churches, traditional shrines, and trading centers to disseminate information about the malaria vaccine.
Lochoro said that although there are fears among the mothers over the vaccines, she will try her best to convince them to accept the malaria vaccine. She recalled that the mothers hated vaccines after witnessing the side effects of the chloroquine for malaria treatment that used to affect the children.
Paul Abul, the Secretary General for the Karamoja Elders Association, said that the community believes that an elder is always the righteous person in the society.
Abul noted that using them to pass the information is the best decision because they are the final people to speak in the community.
Abul revealed that malaria is a common problem in the community, especially during the rainy season. He said that many children have died of malaria because of the primitive practice where parents take the sick child to the traditional healers.
Abul committed that they will do everything possible to ensure that all the parents make their children available for the vaccine when the exercise commences.