Malawi has launched a huge vaccination campaign to protect more than 9 million children from a variety of life-threatening infections in the aftermath of Cyclone Freddy.
According to Malawi’s president, nearly a thousand people were killed during the storm. One of the greatest storms in recent African history ravaged Malawi, Mozambique, and Madagascar in late February and early March.
WHO, UNICEF, and the global vaccine alliance GAVI have planned a week-long statewide immunization drive aimed at children under the age of 15 for immunizations against typhoid fever, measles, rubella, and polio.
In a joint statement, the groups announced that after the campaign, typhoid immunization would be made routinely available across the country for newborns at health clinics, and that children will also be given a vitamin A supplement.
The campaign was in the works before the storm struck, but it is now more important than ever due to the destruction and disruption that followed.
“Malawi has demonstrated remarkable resilience in the aftermath of a devastating cyclone,” Thabani Maphosa, GAVI’s managing director of national program delivery, stated.
“Not only is it introducing a new vaccine, which is never an easy task, but it also becomes one of the first countries in the world to routinely make the lifesaving typhoid conjugate vaccine available to children,” he added.
Typhoid fever is a bacterial illness spread by the consumption of contaminated food or water. According to health experts, a country like Malawi, where typhoid transmission is rampant, is especially prone to outbreaks triggered by natural disasters and migration.
According to Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s regional director for Africa, “this is a significant step for Malawi.”
