Ogun begins measles vaccination, targets 1 million children

In a bid to combat the resurgence of preventable diseases, the Ogun State government has flagged off its 2024 measles vaccination campaign.

Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, who spoke on Friday during the event at Siun, said the exercise marked a pivotal moment in the state’s ongoing public health initiative aimed at safeguarding the health of its younger population.

Dr Coker emphasised the importance of vaccination, saying vaccination protects individual children and shields communities from outbreaks of highly contagious diseases like measles.

While encouraging parents to take advantage of this vital public health service, the commissioner explained that by vaccinating their children, parents contribute to the broader goal of eradicating measles and ensuring a healthier future for the next generation, assuring that the vaccination is free, safe, and effective.

On his part, the Executive Secretary of the Primary Healthcare Development Board, Dr Elijah Ogunsola, informed that the state government had trained and deployed over 5000 health workers for the exercise across the 20 local government areas of the state for successful vaccination.

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In his contributions, Olu of Siun, Oba Lawrence Odeyinka, lauded the initiative of the state government in ensuring the well-being of the children, imploring parents and caregivers to mobilise eligible children in their various communities to benefit from the programme.

In their separate remarks, the state coordinator of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Victoria Adebiyi, the state consultant of Vaccine Security and Logistics, UNICEF, Mrs Florence Moloku and a representative from the World Health Organisation, Mrs Catherine Bello, commended the initiative as a crucial step towards protecting every child in the state against measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases.

One of the attendees at the ceremony, Adetutu Sowemimo, who shared her positive experience after her child received the vaccination, commended the government for its proactive approach to healthcare, highlighting how vital such initiatives were for the well-being of children and the community as a whole.

Newspot reports that the state is targeting over one million children between the ages of nine months and 59 months across the 20 local governments of the state.