The Ministry of Health is planning a mass vaccination campaign for yellow fever under the Uganda National Expanded Programme (UNEP) on immunization from June 9–13, 2023, targeting individuals aged 9 months to 60 years old.
According to Diana Atwine, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, the main objective of the campaign is to prepare and protect the population in the event that there is an outbreak.
“The main objective of the campaign is to prepare and protect the population in the event that there is an outbreak of yellow fever,’’ said Atwine.
The Health Ministry PS added that the campaign will be done in phases, stating that under phase 1, the campaign will take place in 51 districts.
Atwine applauded the media fraternity for reaching out to the public during the different campaigns and required them to do the same for the yellow fever campaign.
“We thank the media fraternity in Uganda, you have been our voice during COVID, Malaria campaign, Measles-Rubella even when we were dealing with Ebola. We are going to rely on you to ensure that the yellow fever campaign in 2023 is a success,” said Atwine.
According to Richard Kabanda, the public health specialist, the campaign will be implemented in a phase manner basing on the global yellow fever vaccines.
“The campaign will be implemented in phases based on the global availability of yellow fever vaccines, resources, and district readiness,” Kabanda said.
Uganda was one of the 12 WHO African regions that confirmed the outbreak of yellow fever cases in 2022, according to a statement by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Yellow fever is an acute hemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes, and its symptoms include headache, muscle pain, nausea, fatigue, vomiting fever, and jaundice, among others.
