June 17, 2015 By Abibatu Kamara
The health unit at Masongbo village in the Bombali District, Northern Sierra Leone, received a large turnout of mothers who assembled with their children for the polio vaccination. The exercise lasted for five days.
A midwife nurse at the health unit, Hannah Kanneh, explained to journalists who were monitoring the process with support from UNICEF that mothers were willing to bring their children for the polio vaccination.
She attributed the large turnout of mothers to the awareness raising campaign that was done in the district.
Another nurse, Jane Kamara, told journalists that “the turnout was good for the vaccination process” but highlighted some of the problems they experienced from the parents like giving the correct age of their children for the administration of the vaccine.
Mrs. Kamara said they have a team of nurses that are going around the village to administer the vaccine to the targeted children between 0 and 9 months.
In a village called Makeh in the Makarie Mabinti Chiefdom, the health officer in charge of the Peripheral Health Unit, Mr. James B. Fornah, said the turnout of mothers for the vaccination exercise was very impressive, but highlighted the challenges they faced including transportation and food to eat.