Hamza Idris
6 July 2009
Damaturu — Yobe State Commissioner for Health, Alhaji Bukar Machinama along with health workers and information officers of the state yesterday succeeded in administering vaccines to hundreds of children below the age of five by giving them sweets.
The exercise started at the palace of the Emir of Damaturu, Alhaji Hashimi Ibn Umar El-kanemi where health officers sensitised parents at a rally which flagged off the July 2009 National Immunization plus Days (NIPDs).
Soon after speakers explained the importance of immunization, health workers began to give sweets to the children to get them vaccinated with ease.
Daily Trust reports that parents in Yobe were before now reluctant to take their children to hospitals for immunization, a development which led to high mortality rate amongst children. The commissioner who described the exercise as successful, used the opportunity to inform resident in the state that government had commenced free treatment of women and children in all its hospitals, adding that since the commencement of the exercise, patronage of health centres by women had increased by more than 300 percent.
The representative of WHO in the state, Dr. Adamu Muhammad Isa said if parents would patronize immunization centres, sicknesses including malaria would be reduced and a lot of money would be saved.
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