The World Health Organisation, United Nations Children’s Endowment Fund and African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) have partnered Ekiti state government to begin campaign and vaccination of children against measles in the state.
The global health organisations said they had introduced a new vaccine to be administered on children at ages nine and 15 months, to fight measles regarded as one of the worst killer diseases in sub- Saharan Africa.
UNICEF senior state technical facilitator, Mr. Yahaya Oloriegbe, while speaking during a stakeholders’ meeting in Ado Ekiti at the weekend, said the immunisation was a global initiative geared towards eradicating the dangerous disease.
Oloriegbe added that the coalition was targeting 95 per cent coverage for children at nine and 15 months of age with widespread sensitisation and campaign programmes using critical stakeholders like the traditional and religious leaders.
“This programme is part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and it is a free health initiative to save our children from death. We are concerned about ensuring that services get to the right people.
“The essence of the first and second doses of the vaccine is to build the children’s immunities and limit the level of exposure to the disease. The service is free and it is their rights to enjoy it and this campaign will help in preparing them ahead,” he said.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Mojisola Yahaya-Kolade, said available statistics in the country revealed that measles prevalent rate among the children of that age range is 44 percent, which she said was too dangerous to be ignored.
Kolade appealed to traditional rulers and heads of religious institutions to join in the campaign, to safeguard the lives of the Nigerian children from avoidable death.
The commissioner disclosed that the measles vaccine administration will commence in all the government owned health facilities in all the 177 wards in Ekiti on November 14.
“The global Initiative is to banish measles and Ekiti under Governor Kayode Fayemi has keyed into the agenda .
“Experts believe that administration of the two doses will slim down the rate of attack because by the time you administer the first one, viruses will come few months later, but the second dose will strengthen their immunities and the virus won’t be able to suppress them and the level of resistance will be high .
“Our mothers shouldn’t make a mistake by underrating measles, it is a killer disease and they should visit the designated health centres to have the vaccine administered on their children, because it is not going to be a house-to-house campaign administration like that of polio vaccine”, she said.
