Maguindanao (July 30, 2020) – The Bangsamoro Government’s Ministry of Health (MOH) is conducting a seven-day Rapid Coverage Assessment (RCA) to trace unvaccinated children against polio in the region.
The RCA is MOH-BARMM’s evaluation procedure to find unimmunized children below five years old and vaccinate them against polio for its ‘Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio’ campaign.
The MOH has started the RCA in the provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur on Monday, July 27, and will run until August 5. Meanwhile, the schedule for the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi is yet to be finalized.
The Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio campaign, which kicked off in the region on July 20, is the Department of Health’s program to end polio in the country. Bangsamoro Government targets to immunize at least 839,677 children in the region’s five provinces until August 2.
A team from MOH led by Nurse Soraida Amilil conducted an RCA on Thursday, July 30, in the town of Datu Saudi Ampatuan in Maguindanao.
Amilil said the RCA was also aimed at identifying possible causes and challenges faced by health workers in the immunization process and to plan and execute actions to correct them.
Noraisa Adam, 32, of Sitio Mala in Brgy. Kabengi, said having her children immunized against polio in their barangay health center ensures her children’s health.
Noraisa is a mother of nine children, and all of her three children under age five have been immunized against polio on July 21.
“Langun na programa na health center sya sa lekami na bagangayan ko. Libre pan e check-up endu gamot nin (I attend all of our health center’s programs. They offer free check-up and provide us free medicine),” Noraisa said in a local language.
Bai Nadia Utto Abdulkarim, OIC barangay chairperson of Barangay Tabengi, said grassroots information drive on polio vaccination helped in the non-refusal of parents to immunize their children and the high turnout of the campaign.
As of July 27, the total coverage in the region is at 74.1% or 622,564 children vaccinated.
Several RCA teams of MOH-BARMM has since covered the towns of Sultan Sa Barongis, Parang, Datu Anggal Midtimbang, Ampatuan, Datu Piang, South Upi, Buldon, Datu Unsay, and Buluan in the province of Maguindanao, and in Piagapo, Saguiaran and Lumbaca Unayan in Lanao del Sur. (Bureau of Public Information)
