Ministry of health has revealed that Head teachers who admit unimmunized children in their schools, risk being punished. The development was announced by Ronald Gyagenda Ssegawa, the Health Ministry Under Secretary.
According to Ssegawa, although the Health Ministry has introduced school registers to track the immunization record of learners, many school heads are taking it casually.
The undersecretary was speaking during a sensitization meeting of district leaders, technical staff and stakeholders from 10 districts at Mariaflo hotel in Masaka on Wednesday ahead of the mass immunization campaign for measles, rubella and polio in schools.
He also noted with concern that a big number of pupils in Masaka region are not immunized yet the immunization Act bars schools from enrolling them. The mass immunization campaign that is bankrolled by the World Health Organization at the tune of Shillings 44 billion targets children between nine months and 15 years of age.
Health workers and leaders who will oversee the mass immunization program have been urged to ensure to also monitor other public health issues in the places where they will conduct the immunization such as ensuring that households own pit latrines, sleep under mosquito nets and schools have clean compounds.
