The United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) has disclosed that the current outbreak of measles and other diseases in Nigeria has been possible due to the decline in herd immunity, the importation of cases, waning immunity, and poor public health infrastructure.
The recent comments were made by the UNICEF Consultant on Social and Behavioral, Dr. Pita Obam, at a one-day meeting of the State Social Mobilisation and Technical Committee (S-SOMTEC) held in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital. She noted that misinformation and people’s failure to receive vaccines have made the situation worse.
Obam calls on all stakeholders to be steadfast in addressing the situation despite the low vaccination rate, which has aggravated the spread of diseases in the country. He also calls on individuals to create awareness of different health issues in their domain.
The one-day meeting was held by the State Ministry of Information and Strategy in conjunction with UNICEF and other stakeholders.
Speaking on the level of disinformation in the state, he encouraged stakeholders to counter rumours about vaccine safety and supervise the distribution.
According to him, the high contagiousness of measles calls for the protection of children against the disease, which could result in early death in children.
He called on all parents to avail their children of the measles campaign, which will begin in the state on Sept. 19 and end on Sept. 25; he encouraged parents to make sure their children are fully vaccinated against the disease.
He disclosed that the target for the vaccination is children between nine and 59 months, who are expected to complete their childhood immunization at a health facility to discourage any form of ‘zero-dose children’.
Also speaking at the meeting, Dr Olubukola Omotoso, a public health educator in the Ministry of Health, broke down the current state of the cholera outbreak. The figures indicated that 11 out of the 20 local government areas in the state had cases of the outbreak, with 135 reported cases since the outbreak started.
According to the report, 131 persons have been treated and discharged, and there are no new cases in the state.
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry noted that the meeting has spoken largely about the well-being of mothers and young children in the state.
In his remarks, Alhaji Waheed Adesina, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, noted that the meeting had spoken largely about the well-being of mothers and young children in the state. He noted that they are the category of individuals who have crucial roles in society.
According to him, the state government has always been committed to ensuring that mothers and children are always at the forefront of intervention, prioritising maternal and infant interventions.
