2.3M CHILDREN RECEIVE POLIO VACCINE IN ANAMBRA

Read Time:2 Minute, 26 Second

The Anambra State Government said 2.3 million children under the age of 0-59 months have received the polio vaccine in the first phase of the Outbreak Response Exercise in September.

The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, disclosed this on Thursday during a press conference to flag off the second phase of the polio immunization campaign in Awka.

According to Obidike, the first phase of the program, which was held from September 16 to 19, targeted over 1.5 million children but it recorded 140 percent coverage as over 2.3 million children got vaccinated.

According to him, the program is being carried out in collaboration with the World Health Organization and other partners by the Anambra State Primary Health Care Development Agency.

He added that the second phase of vaccination was still in response to the outbreak of the polio virus in a neighboring town, Nkanu West, in Enugu State.

He said, “We encourage parents and caregivers to present their children to be immunized to strengthen their immunity against the virus.

“We are also integrating routine immunization during this four-day exercise as well as birth registration for children to help the state government with data to plan for their healthcare.

“So, it is an all-encompassing campaign. The vaccines are safe and free of charge. We are hopeful that the campaign will be as successful as we had in the first phase.

“We urge the media to take the news out there so that people can understand the need to vaccinate their children against the disease. Vaccinated children live healthy and longer.”

While appreciating WHO and other partners for their assistance, the commissioner urged residents to report any health workers who requested payment to deliver vaccines.

Dr Adamu Abdul-Nasir, the state Coordinator of WHO, also spoke and commended Anambra on exceeding the target and finishing first in the South-East in the first part of the immunization exercise.

Abdul-Nasir said, “We want to commend the state government for its political will and proactive measures in preventing the polio virus from spreading to the state.

“In this second phase, WHO is supporting the state with logistics and allowances for over 9,000 personnel who will be going to homes, churches, markets, streets and schools to administer the vaccines.

“We are also supporting hard-to-reach communities to ensure that all eligible children get vaccinated”.