Medicine
“As a newbie dad, I wish to do whatever possible to secure my kid,” he stated. “Seeing my child get vaccines offers me self-confidence that she is maturing with the security she requires.”
Haruna’s experience shows a wider effort underway throughout The Gambia to make sure kids get the life-saving vaccines they require to endure and flourish. Throughout a current Gavi objective to the nation, members of the delegation went to Serekunda Health Centre along with authorities from the Ministry of Health, WHO, UNICEF and other partners. They satisfied households, spoke to frontline health employees and observed how immunization services are assisting secure neighborhoods versus vaccine-preventable illness.
The effect of vaccination starts even before a kid is born.
Throughout a regular antenatal care go to, expectant mom Oumou Trawally got vaccines created to secure both her and her coming child. “Getting immunized throughout pregnancy provides me self-confidence that I am securing myself and my infant,” she stated. “It is among the very first things I can do to guarantee my kid has a healthy start in life.”
From pregnancy through youth and teenage years, vaccination offers a continuum of defense, assisting households protect their health at every phase of life. Like lots of nations, The Gambia experienced disturbances to regular immunization throughout and after the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving some kids with missed out on dosages. In reaction, the Ministry of Health, through the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), with assistance from Gavi and partners, heightened efforts to determine and immunize those kids.
In between January 2025 and March 2026, 6 across the country rounds of Periodic Intensified Routine Immunization reached countless kids, providing more than 103,000 pentavalent, 76,000 measles-rubella and 108,000 oral polio vaccine dosages to kids throughout the nation. “The numbers inform a crucial story, however they do not inform the entire story,” stated Dr Oumie Jagne, WHO’s Global Polio Eradication and Immunization Officer in The Gambia. “Behind every kid immunized is a household secured from the terrible repercussions of vaccine-preventable illness.”
At Serekunda Health Centre, health employee Ebrima Jawara sees the distinction in how health employees engage households. “We are seeing enhancements in how we recognize kids who miss out on consultations and how we engage neighborhoods,” he stated. “Parents are ending up being more familiar with the value of vaccination, and health employees have actually gotten assistance to enhance preparation, tracking and follow-up.”
For Sain Sillah, those enhancements have actually made it much easier to keep her six-month-old infant on schedule with regular vaccinations. Holding her kid throughout a center see, she explained the peace of mind that originates from understanding what vaccines her infant requirements and when to return. “Knowing when to come back and what vaccines my infant requires offers me assurance that I am doing the ideal thing for my kid’s health,” she stated.
Safeguarding kids likewise indicates understanding who might have been missed out on. WHO’s across the country tracking went to 4,311 homes and examined 3,913 kids, assisting health groups much better comprehend where spaces stay.
The advantages of immunization extend beyond youth. In 2026, the very same dedication reached teen women, with 47,208 HPV vaccine dosages provided nationwide, attaining 108.7% protection and assisting safeguard them from cervical cancer later on in life. The nation has actually likewise performed an extensive evaluation of its Expanded Programme on Immunization, examined its Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination status, upgraded its National Immunization Policy and carried out the Big Catch Up to reinforce efforts to reach zero-dose and chronically missed out on kids.
These accomplishments show what sustained financial investment in immunization can indicate for households: kids safeguarded from avoidable illness, moms and dads empowered to make educated choices, and health employees much better geared up to reach those who require vaccination.
Sustaining this development will need ongoing financial investment in neighborhood engagement, follow-up systems, health-worker capability and information quality as The Gambia and its partners get ready for the next stage of Gavi 6.0 (2026– 2030) assistance.
For households like Haruna’s, Oumou’s and Sain’s, immunization has to do with more than dosages provided. It is the self-confidence of a newbie daddy safeguarding his child, an expectant mom taking an early action towards a healthy start, and a mom understanding when to go back to keep her infant secured.
Through its collaboration with The Gambia, Gavi is assisting reinforce the health employees, systems and services that make this defense possible– one kid, one household and one vaccination at a time.
Discover more from PMN S.P.O.R.T.S - A PRIME MEDIA NETWORK BRAND
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
