MAKURDI: Worried by the increasing number of unimmunized children in Benue State, coupled with issues of hard to reach areas and rejections, as well as cultural belief, the state government says, it has intensified campaigns to ensure that it closes the gap of those that were yet to be immunized in the next round of the Integrated Supplemental Immunisation Activities (SIAs) in the state.
Recall that the Assistant State Health Educator (SHE), Mrs Nancy Mkende, had noted that the state targets to immunize over 271,000 children of 9 months to 59 months, among who are those that may have missed out on the last exercise in the next round of immunisation exercise holding in the state, from 26th October, 2024.
The immunisation which is supported by UNICEF, aims at eradicating vaccine preventable diseases from Benue, that is believed to have one of the highest number of children yet to be immunised.
In a charge to the state immunisation team, officials of the UNICEF Enugu Field Office noted that “Nigeria has one of the highest incidences of measles and zero dose cases globally.
“The FGN (Federal Government of Nigeria) through the NPHCDA, (National Primary Health Care Development Agency) and it’s partners have planned to implement the 2024 Integrated State Immunisation Activities (SIAs).
“SIAs are important tools to meet global eradication and elimination of targets for vaccine preventable diseases”, UNICEF said.
However, the Benue State Health Educator (SHE), under the Benue State Primary Health Care Board (BSPHCB), Emmanuel Beeka, said that the state government has intensified campaigns with the aim of ensuring that more children are immunised during the upcoming exercise that would close by 1st November, 2024.
He explained that even though there have been rejections and other hard to reach areas, the BSPHCB was working round the clock to break the barriers that have hitherto acted as a clog in achieving the desired results.
Speaking with Daily Independent in Makurdi on Sunday, Beeka, was confident that before the commencement of the exercise, the state immunization team would reach those areas, that would lead to a successful exercise.
Beeka explained that the immunisation exercise would be ‘integrated’ because it would not only center on measles, so that the team would take care of emerging diseases as well as those that may have missed out on previous vaccinations.
Advertisement
He advised the people of the state to embrace the immunisation as there were immense benefits they would derive, stressing that in many cases some diseases that people and indeed children die from, were preventable.
He pointed out that, “The essence of the campaign is to ensure that all children who are 59 months and below, that is 9 months to 59 months, are vaccinated against measles so as to protect them from being infected with measles and also to prevent the further spread of the disease.
“The implication of this is because largely some of the children within this targeted age may have either defaulted or some of them due to certain beliefs have not been able to go there to be vaccinated.
“Another aspect of it is that because of some emergent diseases that we had recently, the COVID and as well as the HPV vaccination, that delayed or slowed down the vaccination process, the normal routine immunization activities, and that led to some areas or some level of default in some areas.”
Furthermore, he noted that “As a result of issues of rejection, we normally carry out sensitization when those areas are identified. We intensify mobilization in those areas to make sure we know the reasons behind their rejection and try as much as possible to attend to them, to disabuse their mind or whatever beliefs they have against any vaccination activity, be it measles, be it the normal routine immunization.
“At the local government (LG) levels, we have the LG teams; we have the social mobilization team at the LGA level that are there, waiting to hear of any challenge by way of rejection or maybe some misinformation that members of the communities may have been giving so that we can attend to it.”
The State Health Educator also observed that “There was a case in Guma LGA, Abetse, in particular, where there was a rejection. The team there attempted to get over the issue and when they were unable to, they still called us and we went and attended to the issue and were able to overcome one of the issues.
“But, after we left, he said he will not allow his children to be vaccinated. So there is an issue of acceptance on the one hand, just to please us, and sometimes, when we finally leave, those people now change their minds. But we have not rested on our oars in trying to make sure that all communities are reached and sensitized adequately about all immunization activities.
“So, to an extent that in Benue state we had an outbreak of measles in about eight LGAs, among them Buruku, Ushongo, Logo, Vandeikya, Gwer West, Ogbadibo and some other two local governments.
“But the state embarked on very massive sensitization activity with the local government team. And then vaccination teams were raised to go and attend to those areas and ensure that those communities were vaccinated.
“So, this is not relative to Benue state alone, some other states also had issues of outbreak. So as a result of that, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, the partners who are supporting to ensure that immunization activities are intensified and carried out adequately across the nation, now developed a vaccination campaign, especially for measles, so as to ensure that those children who may have missed or who have defaulted are reached and vaccinated”, he said.
