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Maryam Ogunremi
The Ogun State Primary Healthcare Development Board over the weekend commenced the Polio Outbreak Response 2 (OBR2) vaccination exercise.
The exercise was flagged off at the Ikene Local Government Area of the state.
According to the Honourable Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, the exercise which commenced on January 21st is for children between 0 -59 months old.
Dr. Coker said this exercise will be on till Tuesday, January 24th and it is carried out to ensure that the children are protected from vaccine-derived polioviruses that have been detected in other parts of the country.
“The duration of the polio vaccination exercise is from 21st to 24th January 2023 and we expect all children between 0 – 59 months old. It is important. We know that in Nigeria we’ve not had Polio virus cases since 2016 but we are starting to get a few vaccine-derived Polio viruses in some parts of Nigeria.”
“Ogun state, particularly, is vulnerable because we have migration from certain parts of the country down here and we have to ensure that our children are protected because when we mingle, the risk of spreading the vaccine-derived Poliovirus is very high. We are focusing on our nomadic population in this Outbreak Response 2 as well as our children”, she added.
The Health Ministry boss also noted that the OBR2 exercise will be carried out along with the OGSPHCDB routine immunization for children between 0 – 2 years of age to ensure that the children are fortified against viruses and diseases.
“We are also focusing on routine immunization because we can’t just be doing programmes, we have to ensure that the basic things that our children ought to have been given to them. So, routine immunization for 0 – 2 years old will be done in health facilities, whereas polio vaccination (OBR2) will be done as a door-to-door exercise.”
Routine vaccination includes the yellow fever vaccine, measles vaccine, and meningitis vaccine, amongst others.
In his remark, Executive Secretary, Ogun State Primary Healthcare Development Board, Dr. Elijah Ogunsola, urged parents and guardians to make their children and wards available for the exercise as the health of mother and child is of utmost importance to the Honourable Commissioner.
Dr. Ogunsola noted that the Ikenne Local Government Area of the state recorded the highest turnout during the Outbreak Response 1 (OBR1) vaccination exercise in December 2022.
The flag-off ceremony also had in attendance representatives of development partners like the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations International Children’s Emergency (UNICEF), African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), and Rotary, among others.
While addressing the gathering, the Senior Field Coordinator, AFENET, Dr. Suleiman Haladu, commended the efforts put into the health sector by the Prince Dapo Abiodun-led administration, adding that the state has not recorded any single case of mutant circulating poliovirus but there is need to be vigilant to avoid the importation of it through the numerous borders of the state.
In a chat with the State Immunization Officer, Dr. Olayinka Surajudeen, Platform Times gathered that the campaign will be taken to churches, mosques, schools, and marketplaces to ensure that every child in the state is vaccinated.
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