Sets To Acheive 95% Coverage
By Lola Seriki- Idahosa
Kaduna state government has released the sum of thirty-eight million naira for vaccination against measles, for over one million children.
The immunization will be in two phase and will be given to children between the age of nine months to five years..
This was disclosed in a forum to sensitive journalists on the exercise in kaduna, the Deputy Director, Primary Health Care (PHC) Hamza Ibrahim Ikara said that about one thousand two hundred staffs would participate in the immunization.
According to him, Over one million children between the age of nine months and 5 year are to be vaccinated against measles during the next routine immmunization exercise scheduled to begin on the 26th of this month in Kaduna State, north west Nigeria.
The exercise has been starggared into two phases, phase one holding between 26th and 31st October in 13 Local government Areas, while the second phase begins on 2nd to 7th November in ten Local government areas.
The Deputy Director announced that the government has released #38 million for the exercise, while the World Health Organization, WHO was also championing the provision of logistics and training as well as social mobilization.
Hamza Ikara disclosed that the State plans to achieve 95% coverage and that all the 1168 health facilities would be effectively manned , while additional new posts would be created.
According to him, no Care Giver would be made to travel more than 1 kilometer in the cause of the exercise.
The Deputy Director spoke of the importance attached to the Routine Immunization by the Federal Government which declared it as an emmergency in the country and therefore stressed the need for the media to assist in creating awareness by reaching out to the community.
He also charged the media to increase understanding of the upcoming campaign of measles vaccination campaign, ‘help create a positive environment for the campaigns, help promote confidence amongst the population, stakeholders and partners, erase doubts of the vaccines safety’.
Also speaking at the train the trainers workshop is the UNICEF Communication Consultant on Routine Immunization, Samuel Anumudu noted that outbreaks of the disease occur in population with low immunization coverage and that if it was adhered to, the magnitude would be less.
He said that in the past immunization exercise only 35% was achieved and pleaded with the media to help strengthen immunization campaign to enable them achieve the 95% target.
