Councillor Prema Naidoo administering polio drops to an infant at the launch of the mass immunisation campaign

RELATED LINKS: Joburg summons 285 000 kids for polio jabs Health workers around the City will have their hands full administering polio and measles vaccines to more than 285 000 of Johannesburg's children of five years and under when a national immunisation campaign kicks off on Monday 26 July. Read more Major public hospitals and clinics Telephone numbers and street addresses of municipal community clinics, provincial hospitals, and care centres, arranged alphabetically by suburb. The list covers both greater Johannesburg and nearby satellite towns. Read more

Health staff roll up sleeves for polio jabs July 27, 2004 By Tammy O'Reilly THE first day of a five-day mass immunisation campaign got off to a promising start this week when hundreds of mothers brought their children to the Joubert Park Clinic, in Johannesburg's inner city, for measles and polio vaccines. The mayoral committee member responsible for health, Prema Naidoo, and other City health staff officially launched the campaign - amid the sounds of crying babies - on Monday 26 July. "This event is taking place throughout the country and between now and September we are intensifying the campaign to reach children who haven't been reached through normal campaigns," Naidoo told the media and parents. He also urged parents not to forget that polio drops were needed twice if they were to be effective. Councillor Prema Naidoo with Region 8 health manager Bernice Momoniat adressing parents and staff at the Joubert Park Clinic Gauteng's MEC for health, Gwen Ramokgopa, launched the provincial campaign at Olivenhoutbosch, near Centurion. A statement from the department said the first round of the campaign would cost R5-million. Johannesburg has set itself a vaccination goal. "Our target is to reach 300 000 children - if we reach that then we know that we have done our jobs," said Dr Refik Bismillah, the director of health services in the City. There are 420 clinics in the province at which one can be vaccinated. But Bernice Momoniat, the manager for health in Region 8, said vaccination points were also at train stations and outlying areas. "So whether people live here or are just passing through, we are giving them the opportunity to be immunised," she said. Naidoo stressed that all children under five should be vaccinated, even if they were up to date with their vaccines. Although there has been no polio in South Africa since 1989, a case was imported from Nigeria to Botswana in April this year. This poses not only a threat to the World Health Organisation's policy on complete polio eradication by next year, but also endangers South Africa. More than 1 000 lay volunteers and 150 professionals are helping in the campaign. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za