NIGERIA: Millions of children to be vaccinated in massive campaign to eradicate measles

Record ID: 234874

  • Title: NIGERIA: Millions of children to be vaccinated in massive campaign to eradicate measles
  • Date: 24th February 2011
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF MOTHERS AND CHILDREN WAITING FOR VACCINATION
  • Embargoed: 11th March 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Nigeria, Nigeria
  • Country: Nigeria
  • Topics: Health
  • Reuters ID: LVA9R7CGAI4V9Y6FEKU8AU2DNKBV
  • Story Text: The administration of Nigeria's commercial hub Lagos on Wednesday embarked on an integrated measles campaign to reduce the number of children dying from the infection in the state.
    Lagos state is considered to have the lowest infant mortality rate for children under the age of five compared to other parts of Nigeria with an average 157 deaths for 1000 children.
    Previously, vaccinations were met with fear and suspicion in parts of Nigeria helping spike the numbers of of infections particularly polio cases in the country.
    Abimbola Fashola, the wife of Lagos governor Babatunde Fashola, flagged of the vaccination campaign and appealed to parents to get their children immunized.
    "We are pleading with everyone to who can afford who can't afford please cease the opportunity let this children be immunized because it is when they are immunized they can fight against the infections, so we pray that every mother and father who has a child between ago of zero to five years to bring their children here and should open their doors when visited," said Mrs. Fashola.
    Dr. Jide Idris, the commissioner for health, Lagos state government, said the campaign would last for five days and was aimed at reaching over a million children. He added that teams of health workers would be involved in house-to-house immunizations and will also visit taxi ranks, markets, churches, mosques and other social areas to carry out vaccinations.
    "Our major focus is on routine immunization and if we can get this plan on ground it is better for us instead of all this supplementary interventions, and that is why to adopt that we have made a conscious effort to revitalize the primary health care system because that is where the people reside, that is where the commonest problems can easily be dealt with, and once we can provide the services there, we are likely to reach a larger population," said Dr.Idris.
    The Japanese government recently donated two modern cold rooms to store large quantities of vaccines in Lagos city.
    Lagos is Nigeria's smallest and most populous state with over 15 million people and still lacks sufficient primary health care facilities, curbing infectious outbreaks would be very difficult.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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