Anambra State Social Mobilization and Technical Committee, SOMTEC, a United Nations Children Fund, UNICEF, assisted project domiciled in the State Ministry of Information, has facilitated high uptake of COVID-19 vaccination by many Anambra women through communities’ and churches’ August meetings.
A large number of the women readily embraced COVID-19 vaccination during the recently concluded Speaking Sessions held with women groups through 2022 August meetings, where community women were effectively sensitized on the vaccination and Essential Family Practices, EFPs.
The fifteen-man state team monitored the activities of the National Orientation Agency, NOA, Community Mobilization Officers, COMOs, and Local Government Areas Health Educators carried out in various churches of different denominations and women groups covering twenty communities per Local Government Area, and a total of four hundred and twenty communities in the state.
According to the SOMTEC Desk Officer, Ministry of Information, Mrs Grace Onwukwe, the speaking soiessions were aimed at sensitizing an average of one hundred women nominated by each church or community, who will in turn go back to further educate other women on the importance of COVID-19 vaccination, prevention and EFPs in their various communities to achieve positive behavioural change.
Health workers from Primary Health Care Centres in the state also provided the COVID-19 vaccines at the August meeting venues for immediate vaccination, which was adjudged effective, especially after fresh sensitization and hearing of testimonies of fellow women who had earlier taken the vaccine.
Mrs Onwukwe sensitized women on the five key EFPs which include breastfeeding infant exclusively for about six months, taking into account WHO/UNICEF/UNIDS policies and recommendation on HIV and infant feeding.
UNICEF Resource Person, Mrs Chineze George-Ileka, informed the women that COVID-19 is not over, refuting false rumours on social media claiming that COVID-19 vaccines were harmful to humans.
Mrs George-Ileka inquired about women that had earlier taken the vaccine and testified of experiencing no side effects, urging the womenfolk to avail themselves of the opportunity and be vaccinated.
After encouraging the women to take the complete dosage of COVID-19 vaccines which she noted is free and safe, she advised them not to discontinue COVID-19 prevention protocols.
On her part, the state Health Educator, Mrs. Uju Onwuegbusi, advised people to visit Primary Health Care Centres regularly to know their health status, especially their blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol levels, and discouraged women from patronizing Traditional Birth Attendants, TBAs.
Former state Health Educator, Mrs Scholastica Okoli, who spoke on the need for antenatal and post-natal visits for immunization, and to avoid mother-to-child transmission of HIV, encouraged family planning and child spacing to avoid rupture of the womb and maternal death.
Meanwhile, the State Hygiene Promotion Officer, Dr Rose Amasiani, after demonstrating effective handwashing techniques, discussed six areas of hygiene that could curb spread of diseases that result in waste of resources and death, urging women as influencers to shun open defecation, but keep advocating that every family, public place should have and use a covered toilet with hand washing facilities.
Women were also persuaded to start sleeping inside the Insecticidal Treated Nets recently distributed for free to every household in Anambra for malaria prevention, and to avoid eating bush meat not properly cooked, which could cause monkey pox or Lasser fever.
The various groups’ women leaders , thanked the state government and UNICEF for the programme, promising to mobilize other community members for COVID-19 vaccination, and to implement all the EFPs they learnt.
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