Anti-polio drive escapes Bajau

Anti-polio drive escapes Bajau

KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: Last week's nationwide
immunization campaign for polio vaccination missed the children
of the Bajau tribe because of difficulties in reaching them and
also because of some resistance from parents.

However, the province's health office chief, Mohammad Ali, is
not giving up and now plans to mobilize his staff and volunteers,
to make sure that all the Bajau children get their vaccinations,
Antara reported.

The Bajau live mostly on boats, or on the coast and move
around frequently, which makes tracking them difficult. This is
on top of the fact that their villages are mostly inaccessible by
land.

Mohammad said that many Bajau families have also resisted the
government's call to have their children vaccinated.

Of the 203,600 children under five years old registered in
Southeast Sulawesi, only 92 percent of them were vaccinated
during last week's campaign.

All the children will have to have their second polio
vaccination next month. (emb)