The Enugu government says over 1.5 million children have so far received vaccination against measles and rubella within a week in the ongoing statewide immunisation against the diseases.

Ifeyinwa Ani-Ocheku, executive secretary of the Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency, disclosed this during the flag-off of the integrated measles-rubella vaccination campaign held at the Michael Okpara Square on Wednesday.

Ms Ani-Ocheku added that the number represented about 68 per cent of Enugu’s target population of 2.2 million children, describing the figure as unprecedented and the state’s commitment to achieving zero cases of the disease.

She also described the exercise as a “historic and deliberate” move to protect Enugu’s future. According to her, health workers embarked on aggressive community mobilisation, moving from house to house, schools, churches and mosques to ensure that no child was left out.

She said that no serious adverse effects had been recorded since the exercise began.

Ms Ani-Ocheku explained that measles incubates for 10 to 14 days, and can cause blindness, deafness, brain swelling and even death, while rubella, incubating for 14 to 21 days, poses serious risks including congenital disabilities in unborn children.

Ms Ani-Ocheku commended Governor Peter Mbah for his administration’s reforms in the health sector, including the transformation of primary healthcare departments into functional Local Government Health Authorities and the timely release of counterpart funding.

Flagging off the exercise earlier, Mr Mbah described the vaccination campaign as a “sacred obligation” of the government.

The governor stressed that health remained a central pillar of his administration’s economic strategy. He highlighted key reforms carried out by the government, including granting local government health authorities autonomy to remove bottlenecks in service delivery and sanitising primary healthcare payroll systems.

According to him, the reforms include revitalising health training institutions and ensuring access to Basic Health Care Provision Funds.

He urged parents and caregivers to take advantage of the remaining days of the campaign to close the immunity gap by ensuring their children aged 9 months to 14 years receive the vaccines.

The vaccination, which began on February 3, will end on February 15.

(NAN)