NPHCDA begins six-day measles immunization in Southern states

THE Federal Government through the Primary Health Care Agency (NPHCDA) will today begin the vaccination of children from the ages of nine months to five years in all Southern States of the country to forestall the outbreaks of measles.

The NPHCDA in a statement signed by Head, Public Relations Unit (HPRU), Saadu Salahu, noted: “… the implementation of 2017/2018 National Measles Campaign in the Southern States is scheduled to begin on Thursday March 1, 2018…”

In Ekiti State, the vaccination, which is in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF), and African Field Epidemiology Network, will take place in all the 16 local government councils from March 6 to 13, 2018.

One of the anchors of the programme and field Epidemiologist with the African Field Epidemiology Network, Dr. Adebayo Fashola, revealed that research had confirmed that no fewer than 9.7 million children died of measles annually across the globe.

The field epidemiologist spoke in Ado Ekiti during a Measles Vaccine Campaign workshop press briefing to herald the 2018 immunisation programme in Ekiti,

Fashola said that was why the governments in Nigeria were stepping up efforts to maintain the 95 per cent benchmark set for immunization spread among children between the ages of nine months and five years across the 36 states of the federation to bring down number of casualties.

Fashola said that 312 teams of experts have been assembled to carry out the exercise across the 16 local government areas of the state. He said the first phase of the immunization would be conducted in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti West, Efon, Ijero, Ikere Ikole , Ido/osi and Irepodun/ifelodun local governments .