Health officials from Kenya and Somalia have agreed to work closely with a view of eradicating polio in the two countries.
Speaking during the start of a three-day Kenya/Somalia joint cross border coordination meeting held at a Garissa hotel, Director of Core Group Polio Project (CGPP) Jitendra Awale, said the conference aims to strengthen management at county level from both countries to improve routine immunization, acute flaccid paralysis surveillance and polio campaigns.
Awale said to achieve this both governments must conduct social mobilization through radio and other media to sensitize families on the importance of immunization.
He added that at the end of the deliberations, they would come up with action plans that would strengthen coordination and surveillance in both regions to enable kick out polio in the two countries.
Awale said the same exercise will extended to Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania and South Sudan to ensure the fight against polio virus is also won in the entire Horn of Africa.
Among the measures that were agreed upon included sharing the health facilities along the borders and allow citizens from both countries access without discrimination so that a big number of children not vaccinated are captured.
Political instability in parts of lower Juba and Gedo region contribute largely to the spread of polio virus when affected families flee to Dadaab Refugee camp for humanitarian assistance.
Equally, Kenyan pastoralists who cross over to Somalia in search for Pasture and water should ensure their children are immunized so that they don’t get polio virus.
“Polio virus does not respect geographical border of countries and communities that are particularly vulnerable to the spread of infectious diseases because they share a common ecology, culture and risk factors for disease spread such as mobile population and often socioeconomic disadvantage compounded by scares health services,” he said.
Awale said these characteristics contribute to making routine immunization, disease surveillance and rapid response in border areas critical to prevent or contain the spread of infectious diseases between countries.
He noted that along Kenya/Somalia border, infectious diseases such as Polio, with outbreak potential continue to be public health priorities and threats.
In attendance are representatives from National MOH Kenya, WHO and UNICEF, border county and sub county MOH from Garissa, Wajir and Mandera from Kenya and Somalia’s Gedo and Lower Juba region from Somalia.