Routine immunisation of babies and under-5s is essential to protect children and ensure strong growth

Each illness that a baby or a child gets during their formative years will have an impact on their later lives. The occasions when they have a fever - from whatever cause - lose nutrition due to diarrhoea or their parents cannot work because of the sick patient affects the child's future. Mosquito nets can reduce episodes of malaria, and as malaria has a greater impact on those with weakened immune systems or already malnourished bodies, the stronger the child the fewer the sick days. The Uganda National Expanded Programme on Immunisation (UNEPI) has supported Hope Clinic in being a child immunisation site since the first years in the original site. Being issued with a vaccine fridge running on gas, and supplied with doses by Kampala City Council, we now offer immunisation every Monday.

	UNEPI and Uganda's development partners ensure that the provision of child immunisation vaccine continues and is growing in availability. The challenge remains the mobilisation of the mothers who did not deliver at a health unit where immunisation could be discussed and her schedule agreed. Whilst the MDG records show a fairly static 68% coverage, Hope Clinic ensures every maternity client we see gets their BCG and first polio drops. Each month we now administer over 700 'jabs' or drops to under 5s.
Free vaccines, available through Hope Clinic Lukuli	Immunisation is key to a child's growth

The mobilisation of other mothers, those that did not deliver at Hope Clinic Lukuli is reliant on the funding of public health messages by the Ministry of Health, which includes the staffing costs to move into the community or to distance populations. The US Embassy in Uganda granted funds in 2009 for immunisation outreaches alongside Early Infant Diagnosis for HIV to Lake Victoria communities at Sowe. With the conclusion of the funds, we cannot support the staff in the community and so simple preventative immunisations may not rise above the 688% level.

Our records of monthly immunisation are submitted to the health department in Makindye and feed the national data reports. They can be viewed online.

As at 2008: Uganda had 6.1 million under 5s in a population of 32.2 million (19%). 1.4 million born that year. The statistics predict 85/1000 infant mortality [almost 124,000 of the babies born that year].