Somali Maay Speakers Disadvantaged By Polio Campaign Language
Vaccination is crucial for preventing the spread of the polio, a highly contagious disease that can lead to paralysis and even death. But widespread, ongoing conflict in Somalia means that vaccination campaigns are hampered by restricted access to conflict zones, and the displacement of communities - making it difficult for healthcare workers to reach vulnerable populations.
There is an often overlooked challenge for vaccination campaigns - language understanding, which plays an important role as effective communication is essential for disseminating information about vaccines, their benefits, and the vaccination process.
InFocus
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The climate crisis and vaccine hesitancy are two serious threats to public health. They are both complex scientific issues, but people who are skeptical of the climate emergency we're in may also be more likely to be hesitant about vaccines. This is a dangerous mix, as both issues pose a significant threat to our health and well-being, writes allAfrica's Melody Chironda.
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In 1999, Grade 5 brought for me a revelation like no other - vaccines! The idea that weak disease-causing organisms could transform our bodies into warriors against killer diseases was nothing short of miraculous. From the top of my head I remember that some of the killer diseases were polio, diptheria, measles, whooping cough, tetanus and tuberculosis, writes allAfrica's Sethi Ncube.
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The World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, along with Immunization Agenda 2030 and many other global and national health partners, have announced "The Big Catch-up", a targeted global effort to boost vaccination among children following declines driven by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The effort aims to reverse the declines in
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Vaccination team helping children at a nursery school (file photo).