NGO sensitises Gombe Emirate Council c’mttee on routine immunisation
Story from Najibullahi ADAMU, Gombe
As part of efforts to promote immunisation against polio to save the lives of the people, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) known as Chigari Foundation has organised a one-day orientation meeting with the Gombe State Emirate Council Committee on health to build their capacity so they could properly enlighten and influence their subjects to accept life-saving vaccines.
Community engagement specialist of the NGO, Zainab Lawal Hassan, while addressing the participants explained that the objectives of the meeting are to strengthen collaboration with the emirate and ministries, departments and agencies working to improve immunisation services and to improve organisation and coordination of the Northern Traditional Leaders Committee (NTLC) on polio eradication, routine immunisation and Primary Health Care.
According to her, traditional rulers are closer to the people and command respect adding that they can mobilise people better in terms of bringing themselves for polio and routine immunisations in their domains thereby reducing mortality and morbidity rates.
“Chigari Foundation is a nonprofit organisation founded by Dr Muhammad Ali Pate, former minister of state for health and its main objective is to provide world-class leadership in engaging community institutions to implement actions for the positive transformation of lives and society.
“We work to enhance community-based information and accountability for routine immunisation and primary health care services”. She said.
Also speaking, a representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and surveillance officer of the organisation in Gombe State, Pharmacist Bonet Samuel, spoke on the necessity for parents to bring their infants for immunisation for six periods.
He said the child should be brought to a health facility for immunisation against preventable diseases in his first two weeks and warned that if any child misses the vaccine, they can never be fully immunised and are at risk of getting disability among other problems.
“Parents are expected to bring their children for immunisation. Specifically, we say, they are supposed to visit the health facility six times to access the services provided. During those six periods, they are expected to be administered with vaccines at various intervals, that is at birth, at six weeks, at 10 weeks, at 14 weeks, at nine months, and at 15 months”. He advised.
While saying that the level of immunisation in the state was still not too good, the World Health Organisation official called on traditional rulers as critical stakeholders to sensitize the people on the need for vaccination to mitigate child mortality.
According to him, malaria vaccines too would be available in Gombe State in the next few months which he said would help in curbing the effects of malaria among the residents.
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