Enugu Govt. targets 1.2m children in statewide polio vaccination

The Enugu State Government says it is targeting no fewer than 1,200,000 children, between 0 and five years in statewide polio vaccination.

Dr George Ugwu, Executive Secretary of Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency (ENS-PHCDA), disclosed this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Sunday.

Ugwu said the ENS-PHCDA in collaboration with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), WHO, UNICEF and other stakeholders, would hold January 2022 Mass Polio Vaccination (NIPDs) in Enugu state.

He said the exercise would hold statewide for four days; thus, between Saturday, Jan. 29 and Tuesday, Feb 1, 2022.

“This is an immunisation campaign that involves movement of trained and authorised health workers to administer Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) into the mouths of children from 0 and five years of age.

“Health workers will visit homes, schools, churches, market places, and everywhere children under five years are found in Enugu state to give oral polio vaccine to them.

“The vaccine protects children from poliomyelitis infection which paralyses or kills such infected children,” he said.

The executive secretary said that at this period, other scheduled routine immunisation would also be going on in the health centres in all local government areas of Enugu state for children less than two years.

“Parents and caregivers please take your children under two years with their health cards to health centres nearest to you for other vaccines,” he advised.

According to him, the vaccines are free, safe and effective. So do well please in protecting your children and loved ones from dangerous diseases by simple and free-of-charge vaccination.