The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Bauchi State government have flagged off a seven-day immunisation exercise to vaccinate 127,550 children in Toro Local Government Area of the state.

Musa Danladi, local immunisation officer (LIO), Toro LGA, stated this in an interview with journalists in Toro on Tuesday.

He said that the goal was to reach the children to further tackle polio related diseases, child mortality, all vaccine preventable diseases as well as improve child health in the LGA.

He said that with the collaborative efforts of UNICEF, Bauchi State government and the World Health Organisation (WHO), 32 ward focal persons and field volunteers have been trained at the LGA level for the exercise.

Mr Danladi said that the exercise was flagged off in Tilde ward due to its little history of vaccine non-compliance.

“We have a team of vaccinators that are also going street by street to immunise the children outside their houses.

“We have the Novel Oral Polio Vaccines which our house to house team carries along with them to ensure that all the eligible children from zero months to 59 months are immunised.

“We also have a fixed post, stationed in one location in each of the 17 wards where they get children from zero to 23 months and give them all the vaccine antigens like the NOPV, BCG, Hepatitis B, IVV, and PCV among others,” he said.

Mr Danladi said that there was 99 per cent vaccine compliance in the local government, adding that the feat was achievable due to the LGA chairman’s support which complemented UNICEF efforts and that of the state government.

“UNICEF is also supporting our community leaders, vaccine campaign mobilisers, and our town announcers.

“It was UNICEF and other development partners that facilitated the supply of all the vaccines and if there are no vaccines, the vaccination of these 127,550 eligible children wouldn’t be possible,” he said.

The LIO called on the people to redouble their efforts in complying with all the vaccination campaigns and ensure that all the eligible children were vaccinated to make the LGA free from vaccine preventable diseases.

Speaking, Nuzhat Rafique, UNICEF chief of field office, Bauchi, said that over 1.7 million eligible children have been reached and vaccinated in the state.

She described immunisation as one of UNICEF’s strategies to save children’s life, keep them healthy and make them reach their potential.

“There were thousands of children with zero dose vaccines in UNICEF’s intervention states who have now been reached and immunised.

“There were so many children in the most vulnerable, most deprived and most remote areas where UNICEF teams have reached and immunised,” she said.

Ahmed Suleiman, consultant with Magama Primary Healthcare Centre, Toro, said a lot of parents have taken their eligible children to the centre for vaccination as the team had been mobilised to sensitise them on the importance of the vaccine. 

(NAN)