In the central Malawian district of Ntcheu, 29-year-old Linda Chipembere takes her 5-year-old daughter to the nearby Kawere Health Center for vaccination. It is just the second day of the week-long nationwide integrated vaccination launched on Monday, but the young mother and 30 others are already at the facility to have their children vaccinated.
The weeklong campaign will target more than 9 million children — nearly half the country’s population — for vaccination against typhoid, measles, rubella, and polio.
The campaign — led by the Ministry of Health with support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization, and other partners — comes at a critical time as the country deals with the effects of tropical Cyclone Freddy, which has left more than half a million people displaced and increased the risk of vaccine-preventable outbreaks.
About the author
Madalitso Wills KatetaMadatso_Kateta
Madalitso Wills Kateta is a Malawi-based Devex contributing reporter. He specializes in gender, human rights, climate change, politics, and global development reporting. He has written for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, The New Humanitarian, African Arguments, Equal Times, and others.
