Measles has killed 34 children from 3,224 cases recorded in various communities in Yobe State.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Hamidu Alhaji, disclosed this yesterday while flagging off the 2019 vaccination campaign against measles in Damaturu.
There was an outbreak of the scourge and it occurred between January and October this year.
According to Alhaji Hamidu, with the recent death toll, Yobe tops other states in the country.
He lamented that measles had remained one of the leading causes of death and disability among children.
“This child-killer disease is not only contagious but spreads like wildfire,” he said.
He noted that the state, in collaboration with National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and development partners, would take up a measles vaccination campaign to immunize children between nine months and five years of age.
The exercise would be carried out at community health centers and palaces of the district and village heads as well as other approved immunization centers.
“This vaccination campaign is aimed at boosting the immunity of our children. In addition to this booster dose, it is our obligation as parents to routinely immunize our children against all vaccine-preventable disease,” he said.
While thanking traditional and religious leaders for their cooperation, he urged them to ensure that their people accessed immunization services at designated centers.
Speaking on behalf of UNICEF and other development partners, the Communication Consultant, Hajiya Hassan, described measles as a deadly disease that had claimed the lives of about three dozen children.
The district head of Bulabulin, Kalli Murfama, urged parents/guardians to avail their children the opportunity for regular immunization.
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