Mothers, health workers hailed as heroes

WORLD Polio Day was celebrated at Gerehu General Hospital yesterday with the recognition of the mothers and health workers as heroes of the future generation of Papua New Guinea.
With the theme “Heroes of Polio Eradication” stories of progress – past and present – about the work of the health workers and mothers to ensure children were vaccinated was appreciated by the Health Department and its partners.
UN resident coordinator to PNG Gianluca Rampolla told the mothers that they should be proud of themselves that they were the heroes who saved their children by bringing them to receive vaccination.
“The heroes are the mums who made an incredible effort to walk long distances especially in the rural areas to get children to the health centres to receive vaccination,” Rampolla said.
“The heroes are those health workers and volunteers who worked tirelessly in all kinds of places to deliver polio vaccines to health centres. The mothers and health workers’ collaborative effort has stopped polio from spreading since its first outbreak in June last year.”
Rampolla said it was incredible success and thanked all partners for working together to fight the disease.
The Unicef country representative David McLoughlin paid tribute to the thousands of polio frontline health workers, volunteers and other community leaders who, in the last eight rounds of polio vaccination campaigns, delivered lifesaving vaccines to children.