Anambra State Government has announced plans to stagger the integrated measles campaign across the twenty-one local government areas to reach the people affected and displaced by the recent flood disaster.
The measles campaign, scheduled to start yesterday, Tuesday, October twenty-five, 2022 and end on Wednesday November two, 2022, has been rescheduled to hold in two phases.
according to the new schedule, the first phase will hold from November one to nine, 2022 at Aguata, Anaocha, Awka South, Ihiala, Njikoka, Nnewi North and South, Onitsha North and South, Orumba North and South, Oyi and wards one to six at Okpoko, Ogbaru Local Government Area.
While the second phase will hold from November fifteen to twenty-three at Anambra East and West, Awka North, Ayamelum and the remaining wards in Ogbaru Local Government Area that were hugely impacted by the floods.
Speaking at Uke Primary Healthcare Centre, Idemili North Local Government Area during the flag-off of the campaign, Governor Chukwuma Soludo said that the mandate of his government is to ensure that no Onye Anambra dies from any preventable disease and as such, the redesign of the measles campaign schedule is to ensure that everyone that should be vaccinated against the disease is reached.
Governor Soludo, represented by the Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, said that government targets to hit ninety-five percent coverage as health officials will be at all the internally displaced persons camps to provide immunization services against measles, other routine immunization services to qualified children and COVID-19 vaccination for adults.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary, Anambra State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Chioma Ezenyimulu, described measles as an extremely contagious disease that has the potency to infect nine out of ten unvaccinated people, who are exposed to the virus and has a high mortality rate among children, who are less than five years.
Dr Ezenyimulu explained that the measles vaccine will be administered to children between nine to fifty-nine months and while other routine immunizations such as BCG and Yellow Fever will be administered to children from zero to twenty-three months, other primary health care services including birth registration have been included during the exercise.
Earlier in a welcome address, the Transition Committee chairman, Idemili North Local Government Area, Chief Chuks Igboanua, lauded Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s progressives and proactive policies in the healthcare sector and assured of the support of the local government in cascading the visions of the present state government to the grassroots.
The integrated measles campaign flag-off was attended by representatives of partnering agencies and the traditional ruler of Uke, Igwe Charles Agbala, and his Abacha counterpart, Igwe Godwin Odiegwu.
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