The government of Cross River state has said it was targeting over 900,000 children as it flagged off the second dose of the injectable polio vaccines (IPV2) campaign across the state.
Flagging off the campaign in the Bogobiri Hausa/Fulani community of Calabar, wife of the governor, Dr Linda Ayade, said although Cross River state had not recorded any case of polio for more than ten years before the country was declared polio-free, there was need to fortify children against it especially with news of outbreak in some states.
She added that the said injectable polio vaccines consists of two doses of injection, saying that while the first dose is for six- week- old babies, the second dose is meant for those of 14 weeks.
“Polio is bad because it follows you to adulthood. It has no cure. When a child is deformed, he or she is deformed for life. That is why we must all put hands on decks to prevent it now because prevention is better than going up and down looking for cure,” she said.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Beta Edu, said “Universal Health Coverage is our goal. Every village, community and politics ward in Cross River state will be receiving free services for mothers and children. For this event, we will be targeting over 900,000 children, 30,000 mothers and pregnant women during this one week event.”
The Director-General of Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Janet Ekpenyong, said the flag off was a preemptive method to ensure polio does not berth in the state as the state is determined to maintain its polio free status.
“The federal government felt reintroducing the second dose of polio vaccines was in order and Cross River state, as an integral part of the country is keying into that vision, especially as we seek never to record any case thereby maintaining our polio- free status.
“Gov. Ben Ayade, has charged us and indeed everyone in the health sector to ensure that everyone, particularly women and children, have access to quality healthcare services.
“We seek to ensure that our healthcare facilities are accessible without anyone having to break the bank for it. That is why the Health Insurance Scheme as well as the basic health provision funds was introduced. We are determined to ensure Cross River state is safe from polio,” Ekpenyong stated.
