Enugu State Government claims to have sent over 2,000 well-trained vaccination teams for the ongoing statewide May Mass Polio Vaccination, which is targeted at children aged 0 to 5.
On Sunday, Dr. George Ugwu, the Executive Secretary of the Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency (ENS-PHCDA), said this while kicking off a vaccination at St Luke’s Anglican Church Premises in Enugu’s Ogui axis.
From Saturday, May 14, to Tuesday, May 17, 2022, Ugwu said the state is targeting 1.3 million children in 291 health units throughout the state’s 17 Local Government Areas.
“We congratulate our health-conscious governor, Chief Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, for supporting and sponsoring this enormous statewide anti-polio effort and ensuring that all children under the age of five are protected,”.
“We are grateful to our health partners for their tremendous assistance, as well as our friendly governor for providing us with the moral and financial motivation to keep up with all of our immunization programs and other ENS-PHCDA services.”
“The 2,000 well-trained and authorized health teams will go to homes, schools, churches, market places, and everywhere else where children under the age of five are located to inject two drops of oral polio vaccination into their mouths.”
“Other immunization services will be going on in the 688 primary health centers scattered in various communities within the state during this period,” he said.
See also Tips for Staying Healthy While Managing HIV
Ugwu further explains that the four-day exercise might be extended, adding “there might likely be a mop up of extra two days for neighborhoods or areas with peculiar terrains”.
The executive secretary said that the vaccines are free, safe, and effective, noting that “the vaccine protects children from poliomyelitis infection, which paralyzes or kills such infected children”.
In a goodwill message, Dr Ngozi Nwosu, Deputy National Incident Manager of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), urges mothers and caregivers in the state to ensure “no child is left out in the vaccination”.
“Please, mothers and caregivers as you go home spread the good news of the vaccination and its benefits to your Neighbours and help to ensure that no child is left out
“”This is to ensure that there is full immunity against poliomyelitis infection.
“What we’re doing is ensuring that there will be no recurrence of polio in the country, even though we’ve already kicked it out,”.
Mrs. Joy Anorue, WHO’s acting State Coordinator, praised the state government and its ENS-PHCDA officials for fostering the culture of preventive healthcare by fully participating in and administering special and routine vaccines.
“We want our ladies and moms to work with vaccination teams and assist them in identifying any children who have not been vaccinated,” Anorue added.
