UNICEF, Bauchi Govt. vaccinate 127,550 children in Toro LGA

 

 

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Bauchi state government have flagged off a 7-day immunisation exercise to vaccinate 127,550 children in Toro local government area of the state.

Musa Danladi, Local Immunisation Officer (LIO), Toro LGA, stated this in an interview with newsmen in Toro on Tuesday.

According to him, the goal was to reach the children to further tackle polio related diseases, child mortality and all vaccine preventable diseases as well as to improve child health in the LGA.

He said with the collaborative efforts of UNICEF, Bauchi state government and the World Health Organization (WHO), 32 ward focal persons and Field Volunteers had been trained at the LGA level for the exercise.

Danladi explained that the exercise was flagged off in Tilde Ward due to its little history of vaccine non-compliance.

“We have a team of vaccinators that are also going street by street to immunise the children outside their houses.

“We have the Novel Oral Polio Vaccines which our house to house team carry along with them to ensure that all the eligible children from zero months to 59 months are immunized.

“We also have a fixed post, stationed in one location in each of the 17 wards where they get children from zero to 23 months and give them all the vaccine antigen like the NOPV, BCG, Hepatitis B, IVV, PCV among others,” he said.

The LIO, who said that there was 99 per cent vaccine compliance in the local government, added that the feat was achievable due to the utmost support received from the LGA chairman to complement UNICEF and the state government.

“UNICEF is also supporting our community leaders, vaccine campaign mobilizers, and our town announcers.

“It was UNICEF and other development partners that facilitated the supply of all the vaccines and if there are no vaccines, the vaccination of these 127,550 eligible children wouldn’t be possible,” said Danladi.

He called on the people to redouble their efforts in complying with all the vaccination campaigns and ensure that all the eligible children were vaccinated in order for the LGA to be free from vaccine preventable diseases.

Also speaking, Dr Nuzhat Rafique, UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Bauchi, explained that UNICEF over 1.7 million eligible children had been reached and vaccinated in the state.

She said one of UNICEF’s strategies in saving children’s life, keeping them healthy and making them reach their potential is immunisation.

“There were thousands of children with zero dose vaccines in UNICEF’s intervention states who have now been reached and immunised.

“There have been so many children in the most vulnerable, most deprived and most remote areas where UNICEF teams have reached and immunised,” she boasted.

Ahmed Suleiman, Consultant with Magama Primary Healthcare Centre, Toro, said a lot of parents have taken their eligible children to the centre for vaccination as team had been mobilised to senstitise them on the importance of the vaccine.

Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, the Executive Chairman, Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Board (BSPHDB) said there were still few rejection cases across the state which he assured, would be tackled.

He ascribed frequent conduction of vaccination exercises to the rejection as people were feeling there would be an overdose in the children’s body due to ignorance.

“Like in this year, this is the third one and we have been doing it over years so they think there is an overdose and they are getting tired of it because of ignorance,” he said.