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The United Nations Children’s Fund is targeting vaccinating no fewer than five million children for immunity against measles and other child-killer diseases in the South West and Edo states.
UNICEF Social Behavioural Change Expert, Aderonke Akinola-Adewole, urged parents to present their children for vaccination during the weeklong 2024 Integrated Supplemental Immunisation Activities to be undertaken in Ekiti, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Ogun and Edo states beginning on October 5.
The immunisation activity is to be undertaken by UNICEF in collaboration with the governments of Ekiti, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Ogun and Edo states in the different states.
Akinola-Adewole spoke on Friday in Oyo at a one-day zonal media orientation on the Human Papilloma Virus/Polio Supplemental Immunisation Integrated Activity organised by the Oyo State Ministry of Information in collaboration with UNICEF for relevant government health officials and media practitioners from the Southwest and Edo states.
The SBC expert, who said immunisation would eradicate diseases like polio, measles, yellow fever, and HPV, among others, told parents, “Over the years, vaccines have proven to be effective in actually eradicating some public health diseases such as smallpox. So why would we want our children to be unprotected from things that can be protected?”
She dismissed the myths and misconceptions debarring some parents from presenting their children for vaccination, saying, “Vaccines are safe, effective and free” as she called on media to assist with sensitisation on the safety and reliability of vaccines.
Speaking on the 2024 Integrated Supplemental Immunisation Activities billed to kick off in 16 states in the country including the Southwest and Edo states, the SBC expert said, “Vaccinations for children are life-savers they are part of the rights of children.
“When you take your child to be vaccinated, you are fulfilling the right of the child to survive and that is the responsibility that every parent and stakeholders must do in ensuring that children survive and thrive. We are not just targeting the measles campaign now, we are using the campaign to strengthen routine immunisation where children under the age of two can go to the facilities to get immunized for vaccines that they missed.
“While the measles vaccination is for children from nine months to 59 months, the routine immunisation is for children from 0 – 23 months to give every child the chance to be healthy and thrive. It will go on for a week, I know that most states will always do a two-day mop-up to ensure that no child is missed. The mop-up is essential to capture children who were not captured during the campaign. All facilities remain open across the states to be able to give children the required vaccines that they have.
“From the figures that have been rolled out, you can see that we are looking at almost five million children from the Southwest and Edo states. We are looking at a huge number, which is why we require the support of every stakeholder in ensuring that these vaccines get to the right children.
“We want the media to support us to raise awareness, to build vaccine trust and acceptance. We want the media to help in the sensitisation against the disinformation and misinformation that can limit people’s trust in vaccines. The media have a very wide reach, that is why we have called for this meeting to leverage on your platforms and strength to reach people to convince them about vaccine safety and the importance of getting their children vaccinated”, she said.
The health officials from the partnering Southwest and Edo states, who rolled out the targeted number of children in their states also highlighted different efforts such as community engagement, street publicity, and media engagements put in place to ensure the success of the measles campaign.
