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By Bianca Iboma-Emefu
The Ogun State government has expressed concerns over malnourished children and is advocating a boost for the immune system of children through supplements.
The state government stated that it was conscious of the fact that a well-nourished child would do well and be immune to diseases, hence the need to supplement the ongoing Outbreak Response vaccination with the administration of vitamin A to children of six to 59 months.
Commissioner for health, Dr. Tomi Coker, disclosed this during a monitoring exercise of the second round Polio Outbreak Response (OBR) immunisation, which kicked off in Abeokuta, noting that, although Nigeria was certified free from the wild polio virus in 2020, there were reported cases of vaccine-derived poliovirus variant in some parts of the country, hence the need to boost the immunity of Ogun children against the disease.
“In order to improve and increase our coverage, the Ogun government, through the State Primary Health Care Development Board, in collaboration with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, with support from development partners, World Health Organisation and Rotary International, recommend that children 0-5 years should receive two drops of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) for two rounds, irrespective of their previous immunisation status.”
She added that the vaccination teams will be visiting all households, schools, churches, mosques, markets and other public places.
Also, the executive secretary, Primary Health Care Development Board, Dr. Elijah Ogunsola, said that the administration remains committed to the safety of residents especially children as it continued to provide vaccines, urging parents, guardians, community, and religious leaders to ensure that all eligible children are vaccinated during the campaign.
In their separate contributions, representative, of Rotary International, Dr. Festus Adetomiwa, and the South West Zonal Coordinator, WHO, Dr. Olufumilola Kolude, said that the vaccines were safe and effective in protecting children against diseases, reiterating that their organizations remained committed to supporting Ogun Government in all its healthcare programs aimed at ensuring the wellbeing of residents, especially children.
In their separate remarks, Mrs. Cordelia Eze and Sikrat Akorede appreciated the State Government’s efforts at ensuring that children were healthy and protected against preventable diseases, promising to inform other parents and caregivers in their communities to seize the opportunity and get their children and wards vaccinated with the OPV and vitamin A supplement.
