Immunisation, key to prevention of childhood killer diseases

Many years ago, children within the age range of 14 weeks and five years were dying  from preventable childhood killer diseases.   Measles, whooping cough and many other  ailments were taking a  deadly toll  among children while most parents appeared almost helpless.

But with the introduction of immunisation in which children  are routinely immunised, such killer diseases have become a thing of the past in many states of the federation including Akwa Ibom State. Of particular significance has been the prevention of polio, a disease that kills and paralyses children in many parts of the country.

Caused by a germ called the polio virus, experts say the only way to protect children from the virus is by vaccinating them with the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) and Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV). According to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency,  polio spreads silently in the communities and enters the body through the mouth usually from hands contaminated with stool of an infected person.

It can also spread when a person comes in contact with objects like toys that are contaminated by faeces and put in the mouth.

While many countries have successfully eliminated polio, Nigeria is on the verge of being polio free as many states including Akwa Ibom have remained without any reported case of polio for many years.

Worthy of mention are numerous benefits for the populace of Akwa-Ibom who recently benefitted from the concluded Immunisation Plus Days (IPDS) which began on Saturday  April 25 and ended on Tuesday April 28th.

Health workers, parents and community leaders embraced the activity saying that it is the most cost effective way of preventing childhood diseases.

For Monday Akpan, the immunisation officer for Eket local government area,  “people have come to know about the exercise and are willingly  bringing  their children  to be immunised. Also, cases of measles which had been rampant many years ago are no longer reported among the children.” he said.

This is corroborated by  Imaobong Nsungwara, director of Primary Health Care in the local government who lauded development partners including the World Health Organisation, United Nations Children  Fund (UNICEF)for their support of  immunisation campaigns.

Though  many  other  health workers have noted  some pockets of resistance from community members who are devotees of  certain religious groups, some however believe that with increased advocacy and awareness campaigns, immunisation exercise would continue to be fully embraced by parents and  religious leaders.

Nsungwara believes that more teams are need to take the immunisation campaign to many of the hard-to-reach communities saying that there should be the possibility of governments and development partners providing boats so that the riverine communities could be reached.

“We already have solar powered fridges, for us  to store our vaccines but we need a boat to enable us get to some of the communities located across the river,’’ she said. While parents and caregivers have lauded the efforts of the development agencies in sustaining the immunisation exercise, they have lamented the non involvement of local governments in supporting the campaigns.

They say that local governments in the state have not shown enough commitment in joining with the partners to ensure that the campaigns are carried out.

They  have also lamented that the stipend paid to the health workers engaged in the exercise is not enough  adding  that  funding for the entire programme should be increased so that social mobilisation efforts geared towards raising awareness about the benefits of the exercise can be stepped up.

ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK