By VIOLET MENGO
DOCTORS Without Borders are in Mpika to conduct a mass measles vaccination campaign and Vitamin A supplementation for children between six and 15 years.
The doctors, who were found in Mpika vaccinating children, said the exercise was intended to reduce cases of measles in the district.
Delegation leader Kim Gateii said Doctors Without Borders, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and UNICEF, decided to conduct the vaccination because of the increase in measles cases in the area.
Dr Gateii said four districts were being covered including Kasama, Mpulungu, Chilubi and Mpika, and 500,000 children have been targeted. He said the exercise has been going well and that rural communities have responded well to the exercise.
"Doctors Without Borders have been going through communities vaccinating children against measles and we deliberately extended the age requirement to 15 years so that we cover as many children as possible," he said.
He said the response has been good, except that many areas in the district are far and hard to reach, making the exercise difficult. And Mpika district commissioner Malama Sokoni said the increase in measles cases is as a result of visits from people from the Copperbelt who harvest caterpillars in the district. Mr Sokoni is hopeful that through the mass measles vaccination campaign, a lot of children will be vaccinated.
ENDS
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