Gulu district runs out of Polio vaccines
GULU district has run out of polio and DPP vaccines. The stock-out, according to the district health visitor, Sister Grace Anena, started on Monday due to a delay by the Uganda National Expanded Programme on Immunisation (UNEPI) to deliver the vaccines an
By Chris Ocowun
GULU district has run out of polio and DPP vaccines. The stock-out, according to the district health visitor, Sister Grace Anena, started on Monday due to a delay by the Uganda National Expanded Programme on Immunisation (UNEPI) to deliver the vaccines and gas.
Anena said on Thursday that the most affected hospitals were Gulu Hospital and St. Mary’s Hospital, Lacor, which have many patients and mothers with new-born babies to be vaccinated.
On Tuesday, many mothers who had taken their children to be vaccinated against polio, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B and heamophilus B, bounced as there were no vaccines.
Anena explained that the rate of consumption of vaccines and other drugs in the district had gone up due to the influx of people from other neighbouring districts of Oyam, Masindi and Amuru.
“We are trying to relocate vaccines from other health centres like Bardege, Patiko to Gulu and Lacor hospitals to save the situation. But we expect vaccines by the end of the week,†she said, appealing to mothers who missed vaccinating their children to return when the vaccines are delivered.
The district director health services, Paul Onek, said he was disappointed with the increasing rate of drugs and vaccines shortages affecting many health centres in the north.
This comes at the time when the Government has centralised the procurement of drugs and other medical equipment to be done by the National Medical Stores.
Recently, some cases of polio were reported in Amuru and Pader districts, which prompted the health ministry to conduct a polio immunisation in many districts.
GULU district has run out of polio and DPP vaccines. The stock-out, according to the district health visitor, Sister Grace Anena, started on Monday due to a delay by the Uganda National Expanded Programme on Immunisation (UNEPI) to deliver the vaccines and gas.
Anena said on Thursday that the most affected hospitals were Gulu Hospital and St. Mary’s Hospital, Lacor, which have many patients and mothers with new-born babies to be vaccinated.
On Tuesday, many mothers who had taken their children to be vaccinated against polio, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B and heamophilus B, bounced as there were no vaccines.
Anena explained that the rate of consumption of vaccines and other drugs in the district had gone up due to the influx of people from other neighbouring districts of Oyam, Masindi and Amuru.
“We are trying to relocate vaccines from other health centres like Bardege, Patiko to Gulu and Lacor hospitals to save the situation. But we expect vaccines by the end of the week,†she said, appealing to mothers who missed vaccinating their children to return when the vaccines are delivered.
The district director health services, Paul Onek, said he was disappointed with the increasing rate of drugs and vaccines shortages affecting many health centres in the north.
This comes at the time when the Government has centralised the procurement of drugs and other medical equipment to be done by the National Medical Stores.
Recently, some cases of polio were reported in Amuru and Pader districts, which prompted the health ministry to conduct a polio immunisation in many districts.