…as Ekiti State aims to immunize over 600,000 children
UNICEF and Oyo State Government have collaborated to train media professionals and Health officers on HPV, non polio supplemental, yellow fever and measles immunization.
The training which took place in Oyo, Oyo State had in attendance Media Professionals and Health Officials from South West States and Edo State.
Speaking during the one-day training, UNICEF representative, Mrs Aderonke Akinola-Akinwole charged participants to continue enlighten members of the public on the relevance of immunization, saying taking it would eradicate diseases like polio, measles, yellowfever, HPV, among others.
She also urged them to always dispel rumour, misinformation and misinformation about immunizations rolling out by UNICEF and Government to eradicate various type of diseases, saying no vaccine is targeted to cause negative effect on the people but to boost their immune system against vaccine preventable diseases.
On his own, Director, Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Information and Orientation, Oyo State, Mr Rotimi Babalola explained that the purpose of the workshop was to renew synergy between media, UNICEF and Government to better the health of Nigerians, especially children.
Mr Babalola therefore appealed to media professionals to help in eradicating misinformation and misconception about immunization, especially measles campaign coming up next month.
Some of the representatives of the states at the programme said different efforts such as community engagement, streets publicity, media engagement have been put in place to ensure success of the measles campaign.
They explained that mealses immunization is for children between nine months and five years while they rolled out numbers of targeted Children.
According to them, Ekiti State is expected to immunize six hundred and twenty four thousand, five hundred and fifty four Children, Ondo State is targeting nine hundred and twenty four thousand, one hundred and nineteen, Ogun State targets one million, one hundred thirty six thousand and nine hundred fifty two.
Addressing the participants on the role of Media in sensitizing members of the public on immunization, Mr Pita Obam urged parents to allow their children to take immunization in order to eradicate the measles and other diseases in the country.
Mr Obam noted that media put up various programmes on their platforms by enlighten members of the public on the reasons for them to key into the immunization exercise, dispel misconception and rumours about it.
He said the immunization exercise would commence on the sixth of next month as health officers would be moving from one community to another for wide coverage.
In his presentation, the Health Promotion Officer, Oyo State Government, Mr Olarinde Olaoye explained that the objective of supplemental Immunization Integrated activities was to improve the immune of Nigerian children, noting that such would check outbreak of vaccine preventable diseases in the country.
Mr Olaoye enjoined Nigerians to maintain proper hygiene, noting that such would reduce spread of bacteria and other diseases.
Some of the participants, including Mrs Ayodele Aladesuyi Of Radio Nigeria Ado Ekiti, Toba Ajibade of Voice Fm and Tunrayo Ogundele of MIDAS FM promised to make use of the knowledge gained during the one work shop to sensitize members of the public on the need to to key into various health programmes of Government and UNICEF, especially immunization.