Yakubu Busari
Plateau State Government has hits the target of immunizing of over 156,726 children, as threatened to close down schools that cannot comply with the directive of allowing children to be vaccinated by the routine oral polio vaccine.
The Executive Secretary Plateau state Primary Health Care Development Board, Dr Livenus Mipkwa who gave this warning on behalf of government said any public or private schools that refused to allow their pupils to be immunized against polios and measles would be shutdown.
He lamented that some of our harmful traditional practices in Jos North and Jos South couldn’t allow their children to be immunize against polios measles.
Dr Mipkwa said ,most of them who refused their children to access this immunize are foreigners who settled on Plateau and are still maintaining their culture denied their children not to given the immunization due their traditional and religious belief.
He disclosed that the state achieved 120 % of polio free immunization vaccine in 17 LGAs against child killer in partnership with UNICEF and strengthening immunization governance in Nigeria.
Explaining to our correspondent during an exclusive interview at the Plateau Specialist Hospital in Jos, Mipkwa said the state has officially launched European Union support to immunization governance in Nigeria (EU-sign) project in Plateau state.
According to him, the state embarked on wider mobilization through the traditional fathers to enlighten the rural populace on the danger associated with polio, measles across the LGAs.
The Gbong Gwom Jos, Da Gyang Buba Jacob who is the head of the team represented by Emir of Kanam Local Government Area, HRH, Mohammadu Babagida Mua’azu expressed confidence the response of people.
The Executive boss decried shortest of man power and inadequate funds as the major setback to the smooth running of the program in the state, adding many of the staff are undergoing retirement and are lack of replacement.
He revealed that the first 4 round of OPV coverage in the state has achieved 100% and we have introduce new program of maternal new week training to pregnant women to avoid dead during child birth .
Dr livenus Mipkwa added that since he came on board so many facilities were lacking and the board purchase 46 solar deep freezers to be disburse across the primary health care center in the state.
“We also receive 100 drugs equipment from UNICEF for immunization of children and, we urge our staff to commence e-payment which would be introduced in January, 2017”, he explained.
The state immunization officer Plateau state, Sani Yohana Jugu said the flag-off OPV in the state recorded huge success especially in the Plateau North were 430 children are vaccinated.
He complained that some parents are resistance to allow their children to be immunized so we are trying to see that those affected communities adequately inform of the danger of the polio and measles in children.
