The Kano State Government, Northwest Nigeria, says it has targeted 2.7 million children aged between nine and 15 months in the measles vaccination campaign scheduled for between Oct. 31 and Nov.12.
The Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Health, Alhaji Usman Bala-Mohammed disclosed this while briefing newsmen in Kano on Monday.
He said government had already received 2.9 million doses of vaccines from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) for the campaign.
Bala-Mohammed said the ministry had concluded the necessary arrangements for the successful conduct of the exercise across the state.
“No fewer than 24,500 personnel have been trained; required medical supplies and consumables have been distributed to the six zones and Local Government Areas (LGA) cold chain stores,” he said.
He added that the medical supplies and consumables had also been distributed to over 1,200 primary and secondary healthcare facilities across the state.
“The campaign will be carried out in a staggered manner across the 484 political wards of the 44 LGAs of the state.
“The first phase of the campaign commences on Oct. 31 while the second phase will begin on Nov. 7.
“Kano State coverage during the last measles campaign in November 2017 was 75 per cent which is below the national agreed coverage of 95 per cent for children under the age of five years.
“Furthermore, the frequent reporting of suspected cases of measles necessitated the need for a quality statewide campaign with a view to reaching 95 per cent at all levels,’’ he said.
Bala-Mohammed, therefore, called on parents in the state to take their children to the designated health facilities to enable them get vaccinated within the period of the programme.
He called on the traditional rulers and other stakeholders to support government in its efforts to improve the lives and wellbeing of residents, not only in healthcare but across all sectors of human endeavours
