City ready for polio immunization
Dyah Apsari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Cuddling her two-year daughter, Siti Rohani walks slowly toward the stage after the host invites her to share her story with the audience.
In a trembling voice, Siti tells the audience what happened to her beloved daughter Silvy.
"Can you imagine how shattered I was when I saw my daughter who used to run elatedly to greet me whenever I came home suddenly crippled. She can't even move from her bed. When I took her to the doctor, it was too late. Now she has to use a wheelchair for the rest of her life," Siti says with teary eyes.
Silvy, who is from Sukabumi, West Java, one of the areas plagued by polio early this year, contracted the water-born disease in March 2005, when the polio virus resurfaced after a 10-year absence in Indonesia.
The recurrence of polio has prompted the government and world organizations, including the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), to organize a nationwide polio immunization drive in the country.
The first round would take place on Tuesday, while the second will be held in late September.
Siti was invited on Monday to speak before UNICEF and WHO representatives, national celebrities and officials from the Ministry of Health to highlight the importance of the polio vaccination.
The most recent report stated that 266 polio cases have been found in the country since March.
Health ministry officials, UNICEF and WHO are trying to involve all elements of society to fight the disease by campaigning on the importance of children under five receiving the polio vaccination.
Celebrities including Christine Hakim, Ferry Salim, Dian Nitami, Lula Kamal, Soraya Haque, Novita Angie, Asti Ananta were just some of artists attending Monday's champaign.
The actors will stay at several immunization posts in Greater Jakarta to attract people from surrounding neighborhoods to join the program.
"As celebrities we have a special responsibility in helping the government purge polio. This is a national crisis that threatens the future of our children," said Ferry Salim, a soap opera actor who has been appointed as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador for Indonesia.
Meanwhile, community health center officers said on Monday that they were ready to support the campaign. "We have received sufficient vaccine and will start administering it at 6 a.m. on Tuesday," said Penjaringan II community health center head Conny.
She explained that mothers of 6,110 children under five in her area could take their children to 24 posts in the area. "We retrained local health post volunteers on the procedures this afternoon," she added.
However, since more than 6,000 people under her jurisdiction have moved due to a fire, her officers might record a lower number of children.
Separately, head of a community health center in Krukut, Depok, complained that the number of officers working in her area might not be enough. "In the last operation, our five officers had to spend more than a week campaigning door to door for parents to have their children," she said.
However, despite the lack of human resources, the center declared itself ready to support the national campaign.
The nation-wide polio immunization drive will be held simultaneously across the nation on Aug. 30 and Sept. 27. Government officials stated that besides being held at hospitals, community health centers and health posts, it will also take place in public places such as bus stations, train stations and schools.
The government estimates as many as 24.6 million children nationwide would be immunized on Tuesday. (003)