Rasheeda Yahaya
By Ahmed Ahmed
Mr. Panchanan Achari, UNICEF Polio Social and Behaviour Change Manager for polio outbreak countries, has commended the Bauchi State Government for deploying its health personnel to reach targeted populations during the ongoing exercise.
Achari made the commendation while assessing the level of compliance and community participation in the vaccination campaign in Bauchi state.
He stated this during the ongoing Integrated Vaccine meant for zero to 14 years.
He noted that community mobilisers have demonstrated strong commitment in charging the narrative around non-compliance to vaccination.
According to him, the turnout recorded is a clear indication that the role of community mobilisers remains critical to the success of all vaccination exercises.
Mr. Khamisu Isa, a representative of Fathers for Good Health (F4G) in Bakin Kasuwa , has attributed the high turnout in the ongoing Integrated Vaccination Campaign in Katagum Local Government Area to effective mobilisation by the UNICEF-supported community groups.
He said the community-based structure has extensively equipped members with information to avert all forms of non-compliance.
According to him, mobilisation efforts were extended to places of worship to reach out to the targeted population both at schools and homes.
“From the past experiences we had with childhood diseases,F4G will not allow our community to face the same challenges in the future.
“We have learnt valuable lessons.
” Heads of families are now cooperating fully with service providers.
Isa said that the F4G members were closely working with vaccination teams to ensure full compliance, including school-based teams,” he said.
Isa, however, identified logistics and funding challenges as barriers to reaching hard-to-access communities.
In another development, Hajiya Ummi Abdullahi, Headmistress of Umar Faruq Nursery and Primary School, Azare, advocated for the engagement of teachers in future vaccination exercises.
Abdullahi made the call on Monday in an interview with newsmen during the ongoing vaccination exercise in Azare.
She said training teachers to participate in such campaigns would enhance the smooth conduct of the exercise.
“We need our teachers to be trained for this campaign. Pupils trust their teachers, and I had to assign some of them to accompany the children and participate fully,” she said.
The headmistress added that residents with younger children around the school were also able to access services.
Ms. Ruth Aminu, an official of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), commended the vaccination teams in Azare for adhering to exercise guidelines.
“The only challenge recorded was late commencement as some team members arrived behind schedule, but it has been addressed,” she said.
The Integrated campaign targets children of zero to 14 years.
The vaccines include Measles, Rubella, Neglected Tropical Diseases, Malaria, and Routine Immunization.
