Kwara State Government on Friday flagged off another round of the Polio Immunization campaign for children under the age of five in the state.
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| Kwara State Government commence fresh Polio Immunization Campaign for under-fives. Photo: @followKWSG |
The exercise, which is second in series in the year, is expected to cover all the nooks and crannies of the state.
Addressing a press briefing in Ilorin, the Executive Secretary of the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (KWSPHCDA) Dr Nusirat Elelu, called on all parents, religious houses and schools to get the target children vaccinated within the stipulated time, adding that the vaccine is safe and efficacious.
At the event were the Zonal Coordinator for the World Healthy Organization (WHO), North central, Dr Zeenat Asmail; North Central Monitoring and Evaluation officer for WHO, Dr Mariam Bello Abubakar; State Coordinator, for WHO, Dr Emmanuel Eyitayo; UNICEF representative Pharm. Adebayo Bolaji; representative of AFENET, Akinyode Ayodeji; Director Primary Healthcare system, Dr Micheal Oguntoye; Director Personnel, Finance and Supply at the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency health, Ajide Olayioye; and HoDs of Health in several local government areas of the state; among other dignitaries.
“I enjoin all parents, caregivers, religious houses, schools, Quranic institutions to make eligible children available for vaccination as the teams move from house to house, markets, religious houses and schools,” the Executive Secretary said at the press briefing.
“All children 0-5 years are expected to be vaccinated irrespective of their previous vaccination status. Let me reiterate that the vaccine is safe, efficacious and does not have an overdose”.
She said poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under 5 years of age, and that the virus can be transmitted through the fecal-oral route or, less frequently, by contaminated water or food.
The virus multiplies in the intestine from where it can invade the nervous system and cause irreversible paralysis, she said.
