From December 10th to the 14th, Shining Hope’s clinic, along with numerous clinics nationwide, held a Polio Campaign. The purpose of this campaign was to raise awareness about polio, preventable diseases, and vaccinations for children through providing free polio vaccinations to children under five.
The government organized this countrywide campaign after a case of polio was found in a young child in Nyanza Province. Polio was believed to have been mostly eradicated from Kenya, with hardly any cases in the last twenty years so a potential outbreak is a serious issue to be addressed promptly. Polio is a highly contagious virus, especially in areas where hygiene and sanitation is poor, like Kibera.
The vaccination campaign occurred all over Kenya during these five days and has proved very successful. This campaign, coupled with an earlier round done in November, vaccinated 2,003 children at the JJJ Clinic! Parents bring in their young children and their clinic cards, which document vaccinations received. If children have had no vaccinations at all, they will be given the polio vaccine and appointments will be scheduled for other necessary vaccinations. The clinic’s community health workers (CHWs) follow-up with home visits to assure parents know when to bring their children back to the clinic.
There is no cure for polio so preventing this potentially life-threatening disease is of the utmost importance. Shining Hope’s polio campaign raises awareness about polio, how to prevent it, as well as informs parents of other vaccinations for their children, and where those vaccinations can be completed – namely, at Shining Hope’s clinic. Shining Hope’s clinic staff is working tirelessly towards officially eradicating the threat of polio from Kibera, and from Kenya.