The Enugu State government through the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency and State Ministry of Health, in partnership with the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, WHO, UNICEF and other partners has commenced moves to take the campaign against measles to the grassroots for effective healthcare delivery.
The ministry commended Governor Peter Mbah's commitment to ensuring effective healthcare delivery. However, it urged every family to take their children to a health facility or vaccination post near their home for vaccination, adding that the vaccines are safe, effective, and free.
Speaking during a one-day town hall meeting with the stakeholders, the executive secretary of Enugu State Primary Healthcare, Dr Ifeyinwa Ani-Osheku, said the campaign was to ensure a proactive measure against measles in all the 17 local government areas of the state.
She explained that the campaign was packaged to vaccinate and protect targeted at-risk persons aged 9 months to 59 months against measles.
She highlighted the importance of immunisation to children, adding that prevention is better than cure as vaccination would help stop the spread of the virus.
"One of our core responsibilities is to ensure that the health of people in the community is preserved. We are particularly pleased that you all came out to honour this invite, and we don't take it for granted. One reason we know that you decided to honour this invitation is because of how important health is to our communities.
"We also ensure that everyone in all of our community has access to healthcare that is affordable and it is qualitative," she stated
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World Health Organisation, WHO consultant Ndubisi Ebitea, had, in a remark, said that measles is a very dangerous disease that can cause lasting complications that can lead to the death of children.
While calling on the traditional rulers and religious leaders in all the 17 local governments are of the state to support the fight against measles said that the disease can be prevented by immunisation and vaccines.
He said they have already trained 12,000 health workers to carry out the immunisation exercise from Saturday, 12th to Friday, 18th October, 2024.
One of the UNICEF consultants in charge of Social Behavior Change, SBC, Barabara Nonso, lamented that not more than 200,000 children die every year as a result of measles globally.
She enjoined the decision-makers in the locality and religious leaders to support the Primary healthcare agency in the campaign against measles to reduce the deaths related to measles."
