AfricaPress-Tanzania: PARENTS and guardians have been called on to ensure they wear facemasks when taking their children to health facilities for various health services, including immunisation.
The call was made by Project Officer from the national Immunisation and Vaccines Department, Dr Furaha Kyesi, while addressing parents and guardians who brought their children at Madizini Dispensary in Mvomero District for immunisation services.
Officers from the National Immunisation and Vaccine Programme in Morogoro Region, in collaboration with the Municipal Council and Engender Health Organisation through Merck Sharp & Dohme B.V (MSD), are on a tour to inspect the provision of immunisation services in the region.
Dr Kyesi said despite the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, immunisation services in the country had not been halted, thus people could continue accessing them from various health facilities depending on their schedules.
“Every person is supposed to wear a facemask when visiting health facilities as precautionary measures against the novel virus… this will help protect ourselves and others against the pandemic,” he said.
He said it was also important for mothers to wash their hands with running water and soap or use sanitiser whenever they breastfed their children.
Earlier, Nurse in Charge at Madizini Dispensary Eliainenyi Tarimo said they had planned to vaccinate 34 children every month, but following a good response from the community they had managed to provide services to more than 100 children.
“We are still providing immunisation services by observing Covid-19 prevention guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children,” Ms Tarimo said.
She added that before the guidelines, parents or guardians were just receiving services without washing their hands or observing social distancing.
Ms Tarimo added that there was water and soap at the main entrance of the dispensary where every person entering the facility was supposed to wash hands.
“Before the guidelines were issued, we had no system. Parents were used to go straight to nurses and access services, but currently they are required to wash their hands and observe social distancing while waiting for services,” she said.
She, however, said they were facing a challenge of poor response by parents and guardians to wear facemasks although they had been keeping reminding them on the importance of taking preventive measures against the novel virus.
She also said her dispensary had continued providing HPV vaccine to girls aged 14 years despite the closure of schools.
“We are still proving HPV vaccine to girls and insist on the importance of the vaccine through community health workers.”
