…. Directs Councils, Traditional Institutions On Effective Implementation
By Timothy Ekpo
UYO
Akwa Ibom deputy governor has said that government’s investment in the vaccination of children against poliomyelitis, was a demonstration of its commitment towards the eradication of childhood illnesses.
Senator Akon Eyakenyi stated this at the flag-off of immunisation against poliomyelitis, organised by Akwa Ibom State Primary Health Care Development Agency (AKSPHDA) at Government Model Primary Healthcare Centre, Wellington Bassey Way, Uyo.
Eyakenyi said she was at the event to encourage the younger generation to ensure that the future leaders were healthy, stressing that the goals of routine immunisation were sustainable, reliable and timely delivery of services to make it possible for every child to be immunised.
She described polio as an infectious viral disease which leads to significant number of deaths, with complications such paralysis and deformity among children in developing countries, explaining that the conditions were situations which no parent could wish his or her child to go through, hence the importance of the vaccination.
Eyakenyi noted that the best protection against polio was the recommendation that a child from nine months to five years, should be administered five doses of Polio vaccine through routine immunisation and, as such, government attached great concern to accomplish the exercise at the state and local government areas.
The deputy governor maintained that the strategic adoption of several points of service, such as government-owned facilities, schools, churches and visit to homes, were efforts to allow every child within the approved periods to be immunised.
“This flag off ceremony is a demonstration of the state’s commitment to the eradication of childhood illnesses. The strategy for NIPDS which chooses health facilities, temporary outreach pools and house to house as points of services delivery, will be utilised with emphasis on polio vaccines.”
Eyakenyi also noted that the flag off exercise in Uyo was to create awareness that the programme had started and will be taken to all the nooks and crannies in the urban and grassroots, where health workers would move from house to house so that all children would be immunised against the killer disease.
She stated that the exercise was free and parents have no excuse to exempt their infants from the activity, assuring parents that the immunisation was safe as the vaccines were properly stored for use.
The deputy governor urged the involvement of local government councils and traditional institutions, with the deployment of town criers to properly inform the people for effective participation.
Also, Eyakenyi commended the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and Akwa Ibom State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, for relentlessly supporting the preventive intervention.
The deputy governor thanked the Ministry of Health for the revival in the sector, following the vision of government to revamp the sector for effective and efficient service delivery in the State.
Earlier, the commissioner for health, Dr Ekem John, had said the exercise was a significant milestone made by government to check infant mortality rate in Akwa Ibom, explaining that it would be a disservice for any child of vaccination age to be denied the opportunity of being immunised.
John said the flag off exercise was a determination by government not to leave any child behind, in building a healthier Akwa Ibom child.
The health boss noted that vaccination had been proven to be the simple strategic health intervention and investing in the vaccination of the children, most especially, the most vulnerable in the prevention of those illnesses, safe the future of the country and state in terms of work force by preventing diseases that cause life long deformities.
Jones maintained that for this round, those eligible to take the vaccine were children aged nine to 59 months adding that his Ministry had partnered the media, local government councils and traditional institutions to make sure that the exercise was given effective sensitisation for massive participation.
He commended the Governor Eno on his efforts to reposition the health sector in line with the focus on the ARISE Agenda, assuring that his Ministry will continue to interpret the policies and vision of government to make health services available at every doorsteps in the State.
Highpoint of the event was the vaccination of children at the Model Primary Healthcare Centre, Wellington Bassey Way, Uyo by the deputy governor.
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