The Ministry of Health has commended the district for achieving 90.3 per cent coverage in the recently concluded five-day National Measles-Rubella Mass Immunisation Campaign.

The commendation was made by the Director of Public Health at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Daniel Kyabayinze, during a post-campaign feedback meeting held at the district headquarters.

Presenting the campaign performance report, the Deputy District Health Officer, Ms. Betty Nabuganda, said 518,876 children were vaccinated out of a target of 574,588, representing 90.3 per cent coverage against the national target of 95 per cent.

The district received 609,710 vaccine doses and recorded a balance of 90,834 doses at the end of the campaign.

Ms. Nabuganda attributed the performance to early micro-planning, timely delivery of vaccines, daily review meetings, dedicated supervision, involvement of political leaders, commitment of vaccination teams and provision of fuel to support field activities.

She noted that beyond increasing vaccination coverage, the campaign strengthened routine immunisation and improved case-based surveillance for Measles-Rubella.

Despite the strong performance, several challenges affected the campaign. These included vaccine hesitancy, particularly in some private schools, misinformation and myths circulating on social media, school closures and deliberate absence of some children.

In one school in Nansana, for example, only 13 out of 104 learners were vaccinated.

Other challenges included community fatigue, resistance from some professionals, inadequate facilitation for social mobilisation and logistical constraints. The district also relied on one vehicle, with limited fuel, to support supervision across the campaign.

To reach children who were missed during the main campaign, a two-day mop-up exercise has been organised. Ms. Nabuganda called for stronger community engagement, timely release of funds, prompt payment of supervisors and improved logistical support in future campaigns.

The Regional Supervisor from the Ministry of Health, Dr. Emmanuel Mukisa, called for municipalities to be treated as autonomous planning units with dedicated budgets during mass immunisation campaigns.

He also raised concerns about the challenges faced by health teams serving island communities in Bussi Sub-county, noting that health workers deployed to the area lacked life jackets and did not receive hard-to-reach allowances.

Dr. Kyabayinze congratulated the district for its performance and emphasised the importance of community mobilisation, dialogue and persuasion in immunisation campaigns.

He cautioned implementers against using force, stressing that immunisation should be approached as a mobilisation and persuasion exercise.

On misinformation, Dr. Kyabayinze directed health teams to document cases where members of the public are deliberately misled about immunisation so that appropriate action can be taken.

The District Health Officer, Dr. Lugolobi, attributed delays in the payment of some supervisors to late submission of accountabilities and urged teams to expedite the process. He also called for deliberate involvement of political leaders in future campaigns.

The Principal Assistant Chief Administrative Officer, Mr. John Lutalo, commended the health teams and other stakeholders for their commitment, while the Assistant Resident District Commissioner, Mr. Jotham Kikulwe, pledged continued support from the security team and called for security personnel to be formally incorporated into future campaigns.