Mukono municipality Mayor Erisa Mukasa Nkoyoyo has sounded out to all parents who fail to take their children to be immunized that they will not be admitted in Schools plus being recommended by his office.
Mayor says that currently they are 13 immunizable diseases in Uganda including that of Covid 19, but parents have refused to take their children to be immunized, and due to this cause, he’s to meet all LC111 chairpersons to limit them on giving out recommendation to all children who wants to join schools without immunization card.
He urged also school to make it hard to all parents who don’t have such cards, because immunization for covid 19 in urban areas more so in children has gone down, the only way to increase on this number is to give parents a hard time when it comes to recommendation and admitting their children.
“Most people who give us a headache when it comes to immunizing children are people from Sudan and this forced a government to form an organization to sensitize the citizens.” Mayor Nkoyoyo
Nkoyoyo added that due to this cause the government has formed an organization called Urban Immunization Communication Plan in all urban areas including Municipality, Division, town councils, whereby they use the strategy of going down to the grass root so that they can be immunized.
He says that through this program they will make sure that all parents adopt this campaign so that their children will be immunized, and whoever refuses will not get a recommendation.
James Ssubi a parent resident of Maternity Village Mukono Municipality says that forcing a children to be immunized is violating the right of the children , because even the minister of Education and Sports Hon Janet Kataha Museveni aired it clearly that immunizing children should be optional not compulsory because a child can’t decide for his or herself.
Ssubi added that it’s a mandate of a parent to decide whether their children are immunized or not, added that due to the Covid 19 pandemic many parents lost their jobs and so if they put this action in place it will give much room to the parents to left their children at home by not taking them to school and if they made it a bylaw many parents will use it has a chance to deny their children to access schools.
Jimmy Kalinda, a parent from Lweza Village Mukono Central division stated that there are several reasons many children missed out Covid 19 vaccination and why some don’t have those cards.
He added that more so in villages the number for children who don’t go to school is high due to some reason and if they added this it will lead to the high increase of school dropout in the communities.
Kalinda cited some examples where some children lose their card by getting wet, misplaced, etc and if they insist on the cards they will join a group which hinders children to acquire education yet the children are entitled for education and it’s one of their rights.
He went ahead and said that there’s no law which forces someone to be immunized unless the government formulated it, and because there’s no law concerning immunization a person is free to be immunized or not.
Julius Bogere, a human right activist from Christian Humanitarian Aid Uganda says that many children failed to be immunized because they failed to access the immunization centers due to transport and other difficulties and if they force the parents to bring such cards they will bribe the medical personnel to give them cards.
Bogere added that up to date many parents lack the knowledge about covid 19 vaccinations and this will lead many parents to leave their children at school at home.
He noted that though it’s a right for every person to acquire good health/medication, there’s no law which forces any person to be immunized and if someone is forced to be immunized can run to the courts of law for justice.
This comes after state minister for PrimaryEducation , Dr Moriku Joyce Kaducu said vaccinating the age bracket had not been made compulsory as the ministries of Education and Health were still holding discussions about the issue.
And this prompted the First Lady Janet Museveni to advise the Ministry of Health to make Covid-19 vaccination for children below 18 years optional. Ms Museveni, who is also the Education and Sports minister, said the decision of vaccinating children against Covid-19 should be left to parents.
“When parents feel free to take their children for vaccination, they [will] do it. If they don’t want to, nobody will force them. It is not compulsory.
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