Health Ministry currently conducting national immunisation coverage survey
The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), is busy conducting an immunization coverage survey.
The recent nationwide immunization coverage survey, which started on 12 December, will last for ten days until 22 December. This follows a countrywide Integrated Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccine campaign conducted from 8-19 August, with the target population of 261,621 children between 9 and 59 months.
According to Ben Nangombe, the Executive Director at the Ministry of Health and Social Services, in some districts, the campaign was extended up to 25 August 2022.
In press a statement, the Executive Director said a total of 253,738 children were immunized, representing 98% of the target population, with data collated countrywide.
The main objectives of the immunization coverage survey are, amongst others, to assess the coverage, to assess the possible level of immunization-related control efforts for Measles and Rubella disease burden and other vaccine-preventable diseases, and to evaluate the sources of information used during the campaign by health workers.
The other objectives include validating administrative data on immunization coverage among children from 9 to 59 months immunized during the 2022 national Measles-Rubella campaign, eliciting reasons for some eligible children not having received the vaccination as per the Namibian immunization schedule, and determining the national routine childhood immunization coverage for the ten scheduled antigens among children aged 12-23 and 24 to 35 months in Namibia.
The survey outcomes will make recommendations for strategies and interventions at regional and national levels. Accordingly, those recommendations will enhance the achievement and sustainability of high routine immunization coverage.
“We kindly request members of the public to cooperate with health officials, who will visit communities and households to collect required information,” said Nangombe. He added that the staff members will wear MoHSS-branded T-shirts and certified identification tags with the details of the survey.
