In the initial phase of the Outbreak Response Exercise in September, the Anambra State Government reported that 2.3 million children aged 0-59 months have been administered the polio vaccine.
Dr. Afam Obidike, the Commissioner for Health in the state, shared this information during a press conference in Awka, marking the commencement of the second phase of the polio immunization campaign.
Obidike noted that the first phase, conducted from September 16 to 19, originally targeted over 1.5 million children. However, it exceeded expectations with a 140 percent coverage, reaching over 2.3 million children.
The campaign is a collaborative effort involving the Anambra State Primary Health Care Development Agency, the World Health Organization, and other partners. The ongoing second phase of vaccination is a response to the polio virus outbreak in the neighboring town of Nkanu West in Enugu State.
He said, “We encourage parents and caregivers to present their children to be immunised to strengthen their immunity against the virus.
“We are also integrating routine immunisation during this four-day exercise as well as birth registration for children to help the state government with data to plan for their healthcare.
“So, it is an all-encompassing campaign. The vaccines are safe and free of charge. We are hopeful that the campaign will be as successful as we had in the first phase.
“We urge the media to take the news out there so that people can understand the need to vaccinate their children against the disease. Vaccinated children live healthy and longer.”
While appreciating WHO and other partners for their support, the commissioner urged residents to report any health workers who demanded money to administer the vaccines.
Also speaking, the state Coordinator of WHO, Dr Adamu Abdul-Nasir, congratulated Anambra for exceeding the target and recording top in the South-East in the first phase of the vaccination exercise.
Abdul-Nasir said, “We want to commend the state government for its political will and proactive measures in preventing the polio virus from spreading to the state.
“In this second phase, WHO is supporting the state with logistics and allowances for over 9,000 personnel who will be going to homes, churches, markets, streets and schools to administer the vaccines.
“We are also supporting hard-to-reach communities to ensure that all eligible children get vaccinated”.
Earlier in her address, the Executive Secretary, ASPHCDA, Chisom Uchem, said the state had taken delivery of over two million doses of the polio vaccine for the OBR-II campaign.
Uchem said the vaccination would start on Saturday, November 11, and end on November 14 in the 21 local government areas of the state.
“These few days, we will go all out to the nooks and crannies of the state to strengthen and surpass what we recorded in the first phase of the vaccination,” she said.
