Kwara Deputy Governor, Kayode Alabi, has launched a measles vaccination campaign for children under the age of five to reduce childhood morbidity and mortality in the state.

The campaign was held at the Kwara ministry of health in Ilorin on Friday.

Mr Alabi explained that measles is an acute and highly infectious disease caused by the measles virus.

He noted that it is one of the leading causes of illnesses and deaths among children under five years of age, adding that more than 17,000 measles cases are reported every year in Nigeria, with thousands of cases going undocumented.

“As a responsible government, the Kwara Government, through the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, will do everything within its power to ensure that the vaccine reaches every eligible child within the shortest possible period of time,” he said.

The deputy governor implored all mothers and caregivers to provide their children with the opportunity to prevent untimely deaths through vaccine-preventable diseases.

He also encouraged parents to make their children available for the routine immunisation outreach currently ongoing across the state.

Mr Alabi commended the resilience and commitment of the leadership and staff of Kwara primary healthcare development agency for their unrelenting efforts in making essential health services available in all the nooks and crannies of the state.

“I am proud of your achievements and the feat you have attained in all your immunisation campaigns this year.

“Your coming out as the best in PHC leadership challenge in the whole of the North Central zone is a big plus,” he stated.

The deputy governor assured that the state government, under the leadership of Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, would continue to demonstrate ownership and leadership in the health sector.

He assured that Mr AbdulRazaq-led administration would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that primary healthcare, which is the first point of contact, is strengthened to reduce gaps in equity and provide quality service delivery.

Earlier, Dr Nusirat Elelu, the executive secretary of Kwara primary healthcare development agency, expressed gratitude to the governor for providing necessary support, including the prompt payment of measles counterpart funds.

Mr Elelu said that the last measles campaign had Kwara achieving the best performance among all implementing states across the country, with a post-campaign coverage survey of 92 per cent.

She stated that the target for this year had been set at 95 per cent, and the Kwara team intends to surpass the set target.

(NAN)