As part of the concerted efforts to rid the state of polio disease, Lagos state government will flag off the second round of 2019 Polio Vaccination campaign on 14th June 2019 in furtherance of ensuring that all children in Lagos state are vaccinated.
Addressing the newsmen at the Town Hall meeting held at the Lagos state Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Mrs Titilayo Goncalves said that child health is a pivotal and critical aspect of public health and also seen as the foundation of a healthy and virile citizenry.
She adds “The administration of His Excellency, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu is very passionate in ensuring that no child in Lagos suffers disability or die as a result of vaccine-preventable diseases”.
“We have made good progress in this bid with the cooperation and support of other agencies and development partners but we are still pursuing this goal with great determination and focus so that no single child between 0-59 months should remain unimmunized or unprotected from the poliovirus.”
“It is also an opportunity for parents and caregivers to catch up with the other immunizations by going to the Public Health Centres (PHCs) and General Hospitals in their neighbourhood. It is safer, it is free, it’s not dangerous at all. It can be taken in spite of former immunization status. In fact, no child is safe from the vaccine-preventable diseases until immunized”. she stated
Meanwhile, Dr. Tayo Lawal, the Permanent Secretary (Primary Health Care Board) in his speech revealed that in ensuring the success of the second round of this year’s campaign which is being conducted by National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Lagos state Ministry of Health, (LSHoH), and Lagos state Primary Health Care Board (LSPHCB) with support from health development partners such as WHO, UNICEF, CDC, AFENET and Rotary International, many training workshops had been organized to strengthen the capacity of health workers/vaccinators and social mobilizers across the state, local government and ward level.
He continues “The state government has equally embarked on public and media sensitization and awareness campaign. Specifically, Town announcement, community dialogues, mosque/church announcements, sensitisations with schools, and advocacy meetings with LGA executives and key traditional and religious leaders have been and are still being carried out. Volunteers from developing partners such as Rotary Club International to mention a few have also been involved in the creation of the needed awareness at all level”.
“The polio vaccination campaign would involve house to house, transit and fixed post team comprising of 7381 trained personnel who will be administering only OPV to children aged 0-59 months irrespective of their immunization status”. he noted
In his conclusion, Dr. Tayo implored parents and caregivers to ensure that their children and wards are taken to the Primary Health Care clinics to receive the vaccine and all other scheduled immunisations.
