Commemoration of the African Vaccination Week and Child Health Days, Botswana

This year’s AVW focus in Botswana was to reduce the number of un-immunised children through reinforcing routine immunization.

To Commemorate African Vaccination Week and Child Health Days, additional support was provided to selected low performing districts during the period April 22- May 31, 2013. The districts selected were Gaborone, Kanye/Moshupa, Goodhope, Mahalapye and Okavango.

In preparation for the activity, the Public Health Department conducted planning meetings with the five low performing districts.  Officers were assigned to assist the districts in promoting and accelerating the implementation of the High Impact Interventions during the AVW and Child Health Days. Five vehicles were released for this purpose.

In addition to the focus placed on these selected low performing districts, all health districts were sensitized about the AVW and the District Health Management Teams (DHMT) were requested to ensure the commemoration AVW by facilitating the implementation of social mobilization activities, emphasizing the importance of immunizations and.  These activities were done through radio interviews as well as through provision of educational material on the importance of immunizations. One outcome of these activities was private organizations requested educational material to share with their customers. an example of which is the National Development Bank,

Activities implemented during the AVW

• Community mobilisation- informing the community about the AVW using different structures: giving health talks in the facilities and sending messages through schools, village health committees (VHC) and village development committees (VDC).
• The social mobilisation activities whose aim was to raise awareness and demand for immunisation services,
• Screening of Under five cards for missed opportunities, Defaulter tracking, Vaccinations, outreach and mobile services
• Going through the CWC registered to see if there are updated
• Supportive supervision to low performing areas and hard to reach areas to strengthen child health services
• Update cold chain inventory

Commemoration of the African Vaccination Week and Child Health Days at Kodibeleng Village, Botswana

Kodibeleng catchment area consists of hard to reach communities bordering the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana.  Mahalapye District Management Team conducted activities in Kodibeleng Health Post to celebrate the AVW and Child Health Days. The turnout of parents and children for that event was very impressive. The CWC records revealed that the average monthly attendance of children at that facility is two hundred and seventy.

The Health Workers took advantage of Kodibeleng activity to immunize children, to heighten awareness regarding the use of Tsabana in nutrition management and to distribute low osmolarity ORS and Zinc Sulphate to the community members who came in large numbers.

The team had planned with the Mahalapye DHMT to conduct a mini vaccination and health promotion campaign in seven hard to reach communities which could not be accessed that day and to which mobile stops are very infrequent. The targeted communities are located beyond the Kodibeleng area bordering the Kalahari Game Reserve where sandy, rugged, terrain requires special vehicles for access. The mini campaign is planned for the last week of May and would mark the end of Botswana’s 2013 AVW/ Child Health Days celebrations.