…As Ondo joins southwest for measles campaign October 5

Kemi Olatunde

150 million children’s lives have been saved since the inception of vaccination in Nigeria in 1974, The Hope has gathered.

To this end, Ondo State will join other Southwest states in Phase 1 of the measles campaign on October 5, 2024.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ondo State Primary Health Care Development Agency (OSPHCDA), Dr Francis Akanbiemu, revealed this in his opening remarks during a stakeholders’ meeting on the Integrated Measles Vaccination Campaign in Akure on Wednesday.

According to him, the importance of vaccination cannot be overemphasised, noting that stakeholders must continue to sensitise mothers on the need to embrace the prompt vaccination of their children.

While noting that all vaccinations are for the benefit of children, he commended Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa for his support of vaccination activities in the state. He stated that vaccination is free in the state, adding that it is aimed at preventing child-killer diseases.

He commended stakeholders for their support of Primary Health Care (PHC) activities, calling on them to encourage residents to take part in vaccination efforts across the state.

He stressed the need for children to be immunised against preventable diseases.

Giving an overview of the integrated measles campaign in the state, the State Immunisation Officer, Mrs Comfort Olagundoye, described measles as a highly contagious viral disease transmitted through aerosol or direct contact. She explained that the introduction of the measles vaccine has reduced the number of deaths from over 2 million to about 100,000.

According to her, Nigeria ranks first in the global burden of measles, noting that the country has approached its control through vaccination, aiming for 95 per cent coverage of children between the ages of 9 and 59 months, irrespective of previous immunisation status.

She listed droplets from coughing or sneezing, airborne transmission, touching, direct contact, and mother-to-baby transmission during pregnancy, labour, or nursing as modes of spread. She added that symptoms occur within 10 to 14 days, saying “measles can be prevented with the measles vaccination.”

The representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Mrs Oluwaseun Inetagbo, stressed the need for stakeholders to lead by example, educate, advocate, collaborate with health authorities, and support and encourage residents regarding the upcoming vaccination exercise in the state.