UNICEF Moves to Enhance Massive Vaccine Uptake in Bauchi

 

By Idris Ayinde

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has established ‘Fathers for Good Health Support Group’ as an agent of change, in an effort to enhance the massive uptake of vaccines and fight against disease outbreaks in Bauchi state.

Mr Eki George, Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) Specialist, UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, stated this in an interview with newsmen on Wednesday after interacting with members of the group in Misau Local Government Area of the state.

According to him, the support group was established in two Local Government Areas of Ningi and Misau with 360 fathers as members in the pilot programme to promote vaccine uptake by their families and children.

He explained that the two selected LGAs were zero dose ones, the low performing LGAs in vaccine uptake across the state and with a high number of children that have never received a single dose of vaccine which he said, was a recipe for disaster.

“This is one of our gender projects which came about from some of the work we have done with the federal government immunization programme across the country.

“Consistently, some issues around uptake of polio vaccines have actually come up and one of them that has been a reoccurring issue is the issue of fathers or head of a household not giving permission for their children to be vaccinated.

“Because of this, you get to homes where a woman tells you sorry, I can’t vaccinate my child because my husband has not given me the permission to do so.

“It became very obvious that the role of men in vaccine uptake is becoming very critical. As a response to that, UNICEF as an organization decided to work with the National Healthcare Development Agency and the Bauchi state Primary Healthcare Development Agency to pilot what we know as Fathers for Good Health Support Group.

“It’s a support group of men selected from their own communities and using the knowledge that we have taken them through to talk to other fathers to see how we can resolve the issue of children not being vaccinated because fathers are not giving consent,” he said.

The SBC Specialist explained that since the inception of the programme a couple of months ago, impacts have been made and fathers were seen accepting and taking their children to facilities to be vaccinated because the group was sensitizing other fathers on the importance of vaccination.

Also speaking with newsmen, one of the members of the group, Aliyu Abubakar who lauded UNICEF for coming up with such ‘a life saving Programme, said he has six children that had not been vaccinated.

“I have six children and none has been vaccinated at all due to my ignorance, thinking it’s something harmful but since the training started, I am now enlightened.

“Henceforth if I am going to have ten children, all of them must be vaccinated from birth.

“The three younger ones that started vaccination among them are looking healthier than those who have never had one,” he said.

He called on all parents to start taking their children to facilities to be vaccinated so as to be healthier and easily fight off disease outbreaks.

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