The Wife of Enugu State Governor, Mrs Monica Ugwuanyi, has urged mothers to ensure infants complete all routineimmunisations to prevent child-killer diseases.
Mrs Ugwuanyi gave the advice on Tuesday while flagging-off the National Immunisation Plus Days (NIPDs) in Ibagwa Aka Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) in Igboeze South council area in Enugu State.
She called on mothers to present infants immunisation cards for immunisation teams to mark them regularly and ensure that their child or ward do not miss any routine immunisation meant to check the menace of child-killer diseases.
The governor’s wife assured that the state government was committed to 100 percent immunisation coverage especially on polio.
Ugwuanyi also called on mothers to improve their personal and home hygiene levels to be able to prevent Lassa fever and other communicable diseases.
“You must ensure that your homes are kept clean always; while all your cooked food and food stuffs are properly covered against rodents.
“Then, you must observe the universal hand washing habits especially when you come back to your home or want to feed your baby.
“All plates used for meals must be washed or re-washed before using them to dish your meal and that of your baby.
“The current dreaded diseases of Lass fever and corona virus have close symptoms and prevention method; which dwells on personal and environmental hygiene,’’ she added.
Earlier, in an address, the state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Anthony Ugochukwu, said that it had been 11 years now the state had not recorded any polio case due to the commitment of the state
government.
“We are grateful to Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for his strides to reposition healthcare and routine immunization for the benefit of the
people especially rural dwellers,’’ Ugochukwu, who was represented by
Dr George Ugwu, Executive Secretary of Enugu State Primary Healthcare
Centre Development Agency (ENS-PHCDA), said.
Speaking, Dr George Ugwu, Executive Secretary of ENS-PHCDA, said that
the NIPDs polio immunisation was targeting no fewer than 1,050,000
children between the ages of 0 and 5 years.
Ugwu noted that the four days exercise, which started on Feb. 15, would end on Feb. 18.
He said that the exercise had a total of 2,834 trained immunization teams covering the entire states and with special teams trained tocover hard to reach areas.
“We want to ensure that we achieve more than 100 per cent coverage in
this current statewide polio immunisation.
“All hands are on deck. We are having the full commitment and cooperation of all our international and local partners to ensure we have a resounding success just as we did in recent statewide immunisation campaigns,’’ he said.
Dr Ada Erinna, State Coordinator of World Health Organisation (WHO), noted that WHO was re-assuring Enugu State of its continue support to the state healthcare as well as polio immunisation.
“WHO has provided training to the immunisation teams/officers as well as provided transport support to all the teams in the field to actualise the mandate of the current polio immunisation,’’ Erinna
said.
Chief Philip Ugwueze, State Coordinator of National Primary Healthcare Centre Development Agency (NPHCDA), lauded Enugu State government for its renewed zeal in ensuring 100 percent coverage in all statewide immunisation exercise.
“With the past months in 2019 and till date, Enugu State coverage percent and training of PHC and immunization officers had improved tremendous and I urge the state and its partners to keep it up,’’ Ugwueze said.
In a welcome address, the Transition Committee Chairman of Igboeze South council area, Dr Chijioke Asogwa, said that the council within two months had built a cool chain store and bought refrigerators to ensure efficacy of vaccines in the council area.
Asogwa noted that the council would continue to support routine immunization and ensure that it takes number one position in percent coverage in each exercise.
