The Nation Newspaper

Tag: immunise

  • Imo to immunise 1.4m children

    Imo to immunise 1.4m children

    Imo State will administer measles vaccine on over 1.4 million children between nine months and five years, Health Commissioner Mrs. Angela Uwakwem has said.

    She spoke at the launch of the 2018 Measles Vaccination Campaign at Ideato South Local Government.

    It is organised by the Health Ministry in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organisation (WHO) and other agencies.

    Uwakwem described measles as contagious and one of six childhood killer diseases.

    She said Nigeria had 13,893 suspected cases last year, adding that this explains the follow-up immunisation campaign.

    “This is one of the best strategies to reduce childhood mortality and morbidity from measles among children less than five years.

    “…Imo State will immunise over 1.4 million children of nine to 59 months,” Uwakwem said.

    She said the state was first in 2016, adding that there is need to retain the position.

    The commissioner said immunisation would hold in Orlu and Okigwe zones between March 8 and 13, and Owerri Zone between March 15 and 20.

    She hailed the state for releasing fund for the campaign and Governor Rochas Okorocha and his wife for supporting health care.

  • European Union to immunise children in Lagos

    The European Union delegation in Nigeria has said it aims to immunise 80 per cent of children in Lagos against Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPDs) this year.

    Country Team Leader Dr. Ibrahim Yisa, who spoke at the launch of the European Union Support To Immunisation Governance in Nigeria (EU-SIGN) by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, in Ikeja, said the project, which is being implemented through the 20th European Union Fund in 23 focal states and the Federal Capital Territory, is a continuation of the European Union Partnership for Reinforcement of Immunisation Efficiency (EU-PRIME) project.

    He added that the support is being provided in 506 of the 774 local governments.

    Yisa said: “From the report of the National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), 2013, 53.9 per cent of children in Lagos State are fully immunised against VPDs by age one. This is an impressive performance when compared to the national average of 23.3 per cent.

    “However, we still have much work to do to achieve a minimum of 80 per cent coverage, which is critical for conferring Herd Immunity on children that are vulnerable to VPDs. in Lagos.

    “It is against this background that the implementation of EU-SIGN project is crucial for strengthening governance and the PHC system for effective and efficient delivery of immunisation and other primary health care services.

    “This will not only increase immunisation coverage, it will help to achieve the overall objective of contributing to the reduction of childhood morbidity and mortality due to VPDs.”

    He said the present EU support to Lagos includes strengthening key elements of PHC under one roof, boosting storage capacity for vaccines by building a cold store at Ikorodu and supply of 73 direct drive solar refrigerators, which have been installed in the 20 councils’ cold chain stores and 53 health facilities, among others.

  • Ambode urges parents to immunise children against polio

    The Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode,  yesterday urged parents to ensure children under five years are immunised against polio.

    Ambode, who spoke at the Flag-off of the Round One of the National Immunisation Plus Day at Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area (LGA), said parents should use the window of opportunity available to them between today and Tuesday to get their children immunised.

    Ambode, represented by his Special Adviser on Public Health, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga said children from zero to 59 months, that is under-five, should receive two drops of oral polio vaccine (OPV) irrespective of the time they have taken the vaccine.

    He urged the community and religious leaders to ensure children under-five avail themselves of the opportunity.

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) Lagos State co-ordinator, Dr Sunday Abidoye said the vaccine is a must take for children within the stipulated age range.

    He said Nigeria has been declared polio-free by the WHO since 2014, adding that the immunisation programme was necessary to prevent the disease.

  • Residents urged to immunise their children

    The Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) Hon. Micah Jiba has advised residents of the area to ensure that children between zero and five years are immunised against all child killer diseases during the current exercise.

    The council chief spoke while flagging off Immunisation Plus Day at Angwuan Hausawa in Damagaza Village. He said there was need for co-operation from every stakeholder in the council in order to ensure the success of this year’s immunisation exercise.

    He further said since the council has attained 85 per cent success in the fight against polio last year, there was need to sustain and exceed the success this year.

    The Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Primary Healthcare Development Board (PHCDB), Dr. Rilwan Mohammed, appealed to the Federal Government to enact a law to prevent landlords from building houses without toilet facilities.

    Mohammed advised individuals and organisations to ensure that they make toilet facilities major component of their houses.

    According to him, any corporate organisation that plans to construct a place of leisure or celebrations must also include toilet facilities, saying that at the Millennium Park, there are no toilet facilities while in Wonderland, there are very few toilet facilities.

    “It is not proper that such places do not have toilet facilities. Any child that is pressed would defecate anywhere. That is why we are having outbreak of diseases like polio in Nigeria. There should be adequate toilet facilities for people’s conveniences.

    “I also appeal to the communities to make sure that their children are immunised in this round of the exercise and that of April,” he said.

  • Oyo to immunise 1m kids

    Oyo State government has reiterated its determination to maintain a polio-free status as it unveiled plan to immunise over 1million children between the ages of 0 to 5 years in the next round of nationwide immunisation campaign against poliomyelitis which will begin this weekend.

    The state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, disclosed this at a one- day debriefing meeting on tracked family planning organised by the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI) held at Kankanfo Inn, Ibadan.

    He noted that this is in collaboration with the counterpart funding withf N10 million from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF ), while the state government intends to contribute N3 million.

    “This is to show the readiness of the state to sustain its polio-free status through immunisation campaigns and programmes. Our periodic immunisation of children remained the most cost-effective strategy in diseases prevention among children” he said

    Gbadegesin added that arrangement had been perfected to strengthen the immunisation outreach services especially in the “hard to reach” areas of the state, saying that would enable all the children in every nook and cranny of the state to have equal opportunity to immunisation.

    Earlier in her welcome address, the state team leader of NURHI, Mrs Stella Akinso, urged the state government to increase the budgetary allocation for family planning and child spacing in order to improve maternal healthcare.

    She noted that in Oyo State, about 262 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births occur annually, which Akinso said can be prevented with the use of reliable and appropriate interventions.

    The NURHI team leader also appealed to the state legislators for the speedy passage of the law that would help in the effective delivery of family planning services in Oyo State.