Over 900,000 Children To Be Immunized Against Measles In Benue
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Loading ...From Msughshima Andrew, Makurdi
More than 900,000 children between the age of 9-59 months are to be immunized against Measles in Benue State in the forthcoming Nationwide Measles Vaccinationย Campaign.
Stakeholders in the health sector gave this indication when Wife of the Governor of Benue State, Mrs Eunice Ortom met with female Chairmen of Local Governments, Wives of LG Chairmen, Heads of Health Departments, Supervisory Councillors and Principal Officers ahead of the exercise.
Mrs Ortom who urged all stakeholders to work towards the success of the programme stated that not one child should be left out when the programme begins.
Mrs Ortom who quoted from 2016 data from WHO and UNICEF, said Nigeria has the highest number of unimmunized children against measles globally ahead of India and Pakistan.
She described measles as a viral and child killer disease and sued for active collaboration from all team players to not only reduce the incidence of unimmunized children to the barest minimum but to stamp out measles from the state.
She called on the female Chairmen andย wives of local government chairmen to go back home and mobilize grassroots women in all political wards, okada riders among others for sensitization rallies and to encourage every woman to bring out their children for the immunization exercise.
“As mothers, we know the pains of carrying and birthing a child after nine months. So, we do not want to loose any child to measles in Benue state. Let us have less number of incidences and if possible, eliminate measles in Benue state and Nigeria at large”, she said.
A World Health Organization, WHO Represenative at the meeting, Dr Ansah Ugwu said the WHO had received reported cases of measles in Benue before now and expressed the hope that by the end of the campaign, a total number of 972,371 Benue children would all be vaccinated.
Also speaking, the Executiveย Secretary Benue State Primary Healthcare Board, Dr Bem Agida said federal government organized the national measles campaign to immunize children between 9months to 59 months to reduce the high number of unimmunized children in the country.
He said implementation will be carried out in two phases in Benue begining fromย 8th to 13th of Februaryย with Ado, Agatu, Gboko, Makurdi, Ogbadibo, Ukum, Logo, Kwande, Oju, Buruku, Konshisha and Okpokwu while phase two will be carried out in Gwer East, Gwer West, Otupko, Ohimini, Tarka, Vandeikya, Obi, Katsina Ala, Guma and Ushongo fromย 15th to 20th February 2018.
Dr Agida advised the stakeholders to mobilize women groups at the grassroots to sensitize them on the campaign just as he urged them to support in supervising the exercise to boost the morale of health workers.
