Ever tied a piece of cloth on your face and begin to walk? That is the state in which women in rural areas attend immunization. There seems to be a veil covering women’s faces in rural areas.
Accordingly, some of the immunizable diseases are; Polio, Tetanus, Whopping Cough, Diphtheria, Tuberculosis,Measles among others. Each has its vaccine, time and part of the body to be administered .
However most women in rural areas only know polio of all in immunisable diseases. If a woman in a rural area is seen heading for immunisation, try and inquire where she is going, her answer is always, “I am going for polio”.
Though women in rural areas appreciate the fact that immunization is important, they believe that it only gives a remedy to one disease which is polio.Majority of those women who attend immunisation in rural areas do not know how to read. There fore it would be hard to realize what kind of immunisable disease are written on the immunisation cards of their children.
Penlope Musimenta a 34 year old, resident of Kagunga village in Bufundi Sub county in Rubanda district attends immunisation for fear of being abused by nurses, otherwise she would have dodged some of the sessions. Penlope admits that she considers immunisation as a wastage of time and inflicts pain on a baby yet its only a measure to prevent one disease which is polio.
Such ignorance in rural women explains why some of them do not complete all the required vaccines for their children.
In an up close with Dr Robinah Nakawunde, she highlights immunisable diseases, the body part as as well the age at which the vaccine is given to the baby. She works at China-Uganda Friendship Hospital Naguru.Featuring in an audio clip below, is Dr Robinah giving details on immunisation.
Efforts in form of campaigns, radio talk shows and adverts should be put in place to help rural women understand immunization broadly. Or else more children will continue to be victims of these immunisable diseases despite the government’s efforts of availing immunization services for free across the country.
Dr Robinah in her leisure time 
In a lab coat is Dr Robinah at the hospital
Healthy Baby 