Orphans and Vulnerable Children - CRIN

Immunisation

In this activity, you will:

 Discuss immunisation and the illnesses children need to be immunised against

Facilitator’s notes:

Immunisation is when a child is given a vaccine that is either injected into the body or swallowed

to protect against certain serious preventable diseases that can cause deaths in children.

The following are the immunisable diseases in most African countries: Measles,

poliomyelitis, whooping cough, tetanus, tuberculosis, diphtheria, Hepatitis B,

Haemophilus Influenzae type B, yellow fever.

The following are key messages about immunisation:

All children need to be immunised

 All children under one year need to be immunised. Half of the

deaths from the nine diseases occur before the age of one year.

Those children who are older and who are not fully immunised,

should still be vaccinated.

 Infants must complete the full course of immunisation, or the vaccine may not work.

The parent/guardian must take the child to be vaccinated at least four times to be able to

complete the immunisation. A baby cannot be fully immunised against all the diseases

in one visit to the clinic.

 Caregivers should not be afraid of having their children immunised. The vaccines are safe

and effective.

 A child who is not immunised may get measles or tuberculosis. These diseases can kill

children. Even if they survive them, they will be weakened and may not develop properly.

 A child who is not immunised could get the disease and infect other children.

Even sick children should be immunised

 It is safe to immunise sick children. One of the

main reasons why children are not brought for

immunisation is that they have a fever or a cough,

but this should not prevent them from receiving

their immunisations.

 All children should be vaccinated, even when they are

sick. The healthcare worker will check if there are

any reasons why a child should not be vaccinated.

There is an

Immunisation

Schedule in

Appendix 2

on page 359

note !!

Activity 2

Guide to Mobilising and Strengthening Community-Led Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Unit 2, Module 3^241