Oyo State government has assured that appropriate measures have been put in place to ensure safety of health workers administering measles vaccines on children in all the 33 local government areas in the state.
The assurance came on the heels of an attack on a health worker by a suspected Fulani herdsmen in Saki East Local Government area of Oyo State during the last measles vaccination.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ sensitization meeting to herald the commencement of the 2018 measles vaccination campaign on Tuesday, Consultant, Communication for Development, Measles vaccine Campaign, UNICEF, Hajia Risikat Giwa said the government and other stakeholders were already in talks with security agencies. including the Nigerian Army, Police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, (NSCDC) among others to provide adequate security for all health workers, especially areas where residents are resisting vaccination of their children.
Giwa, who declared that the campaign is currently experiencing stiff opposition in seven local government areas in Oke-Ogun geopolitical zone of the state: Saki West, Saki East, Iseyin, Iwajowa, Oorelope and Itesiwaju, noted that the state government had requested for security backups for health workers that would be serving in those areas.
She added that language interpreters from local communities would also be included in each team that would be serving in the area to ensure confidence between the communities and health workers.
While lamenting that the last attack on healthcare workers posed a huge challenge to government’s target of eradicating measles in the country by 2020, the UNICEF consultant said the government as well as international health partners remained undeterred to ensure that all eligible children were vaccinated in the new campaign.
The new campaign, which is divided into two phases commences on March 8-13 and followed by another one between March 15-20. The target age for the vaccine according to her is children between 9 and 59 month.
Giwa further assured that government and other development partners would do all within their power to ensure that children within the target age range were vaccinated.
Executive Secretary, Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board, Dr. Lanre Abass who was represented by the State Health Educator, Mr. Olarinde Olaoye, while speaking noted that measles is one of the childhood vaccine preventable diseases that increase the mortality and morbidity rate of under-five in the state.
He lamented that it had been a recurring menace because of the ignorance of the people on the means of treatment, as well as some wrong rumour surrounding the administration of vaccine in some communities.
Abass added that the first phase of the vaccination would take place in 17 local government areas, while the second phase would be held in the remaining 16 LGs for ease of monitoring and administration.
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