launch of the National Polio Campaign and Reach Every District (RED) strategy
in the Eastern Cape province
2 October 2006
Delivered by Eastern Cape MEC Jajula on behalf of the Minister
Ladies and gentlemen, Minister of Education (Ms Pandor), Premier of Eastern
Cape (Ms Balindlela), Health Superintendent General (Mr Boya), Health
professionals, community members and friends; thank you for coming here today,
to join us on this important occasion.
Today we are here to launch the national Polio campaign, Reach Every
District (RED) Strategy and Immunisation Awareness, spearheaded by schools. We
want polio to be eradicated, to be a disease of the past. No South African
child should be affected by Polio or any childhood vaccine preventable disease.
All children should receive their immunisation on time and complete the
immunisation schedule.
Polio eradication is a global effort, which requires all countries, big and
small, to focus their efforts to attain this goal by the year 2008. We need
commitment from the public and private health sectors, the media and
communities. We encourage parents, caregivers and communities to continue
supporting the immunisation programme. Our country puts the needs of children
first, thus our children should not be deprived of immunisation.
This year our neighbour Namibia experienced an outbreak of Polio after being
Polio free for more than ten years. This put us on high alert that as long as
there is a case of wild poliovirus in any part of the world, all children are
at high risk. The virus does not respect boundaries.
The Department of Health has set strategies to ensure that children are
protected from the wild poliovirus. An emergency Polio campaign was conducted
in four districts at high risk in July 2006. Nationwide from 8 - 14 October
2006, all children from 0 to under 5 years, irrespective of their immunisation
status would be immunised against polio. Again next year in May and June
children less than 5 years will be immunised against Polio and Measles.
Children under 5 years are targeted because they are at high risk.
No child should be missed by these campaigns. All parents, care-givers and
community members have a duty to make sure that children are taken to receive
immunisation during mass campaigns.
To reach every child in the country, the Reach Every District (RED) strategy
was introduced to help improve childhood immunisation services, and to
guarantee sustainable and equitable high quality immunisation services.
Today we want to say to all South Africans, "Not a single child, no matter
how poor, how remote, must be crippled by polio. Our country cannot afford to
have children crippled or killed by Polio when there is an effective and safe
vaccine, which is readily available."
It was through immunisation that smallpox; one of the most disfiguring
diseases was eradicated. The whole world is now free from smallpox. In the same
way, immunisation will set the world free of polio.
I would like to express our sincere gratitude and salute the Dream and Do
(DaD) Leaders, and Stanford Lake College students who support the immunisation
awareness campaign. The team has been committed in conducting community
edu-tainment from 2003.
Our country puts the needs of children first, thus our children should not
be deprived of immunisation. In this country, immunisation is sustained and
linked with the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) Programme.
This country builds a strong and uniform approach in providing our children
with the best health care available.
A child that is not immunised is at risk of suffering from polio and measles
and is also a danger to other children. No child should be deprived of
immunisation without serious thought of the consequences, both for the child
and the community.
This country must continue to demonstrate our commitment to ending polio and
measles forever. It is the future of every South African child that counts.
Today I want to say to all the parents, to all child minders, to all caregivers
and health care workers that, "Our children are the future and have the right
to be healthy and free of childhood vaccine preventable diseases."
We all need to remember that there is no cure for polio but polio can be
prevented. A polio victim is crippled for life. Similarly measles can cause a
number of complications, blindness from measles cannot be reversed, and measles
can kill. Yet measles can be prevented. Both conditions can be prevented
through vaccines available free of charge at public health facilities.
Polio can easily return to South Africa if our children are not fully
protected through immunisation. We therefore need to join hands with other
countries to ensure that these dreadful crippling diseases are eradicated and
eliminated worldwide.
Once the wild poliovirus is eradicated, no child will ever again lose the
ability to walk because of polio. Future generations of children can grow up
without the risk of polio. We owe it to the present and future generations to
eradicate polio.
Together and united we can do away with Polio and Measles. Measles and Polio
will soon be diseases of the past, only if we immunise our children, only if we
support efforts like the immunisation campaign.
In closing, I would like to express our sincere gratitude and salute our
partners in this national and global effort.
Our sincere thanks go to:
The Premier, MEC and Superintendent Director General of Eastern Cape and
your dedicated staff, World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations
International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), ROTARY, Sanofi Pasteur South
Africa, Biovac, South African National Defence Force (SANDF), members of the
Polio Eradication Committee, the National Certification Committee, the Polio
Expert Committee, and the National Laboratory Containment Committee.
Further to this, our special gratitude is extended to the staff and students
of the Stanford Lake College in their dedication to the cause of Polio
eradication. Their drive to raise public awareness around childhood
immunisation is highly appreciated.
I say to all of you who have made this day a success, and all of you who
will participate in the coming immunisation campaigns, all of you who have
contributed somehow to ensure that every South African child is protected from
polio and measles, "Your contributions are forever praised and highly
appreciated."
Last but by no means the least, "To the Premier, MEC and SDG for Eastern
Cape and the Organising Committee, I want to thank you for organising and
hosting this important day."
Thank you
Issued by: Department of Health
2 October 2006
