Taraba, UNICEF task media on measles vaccination 

The dream of halting Measles, polio and other child killer diseases from resurrecting its ugly head in Taraba state, media practitioners, as opined by the leadership of the State Primary Health Care Developed Agency and the United Nations Children’s Fund  (UNICEF) must educate the people on the adverse effects of rejecting the vaccines.

Speaking yesterday in Jalingo the state capital during Measles Vaccination Campaign sensitization meeting organized for media practitioners in the state, the Executive Secretary, TSPHCDA, Aminu Hassan Jairo, admonished journalists to endeavor to go extra miles to persuasion the people on the need to accept the vaccines.

Jauro who spoke through the Immunization and Disease Control officer, Dr. Kenneth Tijo, believed that the “ engagement of journalists is criticized to the success of Measles campaign.”

Stressing the roles of media in the success of all the agency’s programmes, the need to engage the medical in the forthcoming Measles vaccination campaign slated for next week across the nooks and crannies of the state, he said has become necessary.

The agency as stated by him will contact to throw its weight in support of the fourth realm of the estate to “make sure that the critical roles they are supporting to play is supported.”

The meeting as observed by The Guardian was necessitated following recent massive rejection of polio vaccine as a result of the outbreak of MonkeyPox in  some states of the federation.

Following the rumours that emanated from the MonkeyPox outbreak, several communities and schools in the state, were said to have deliberately denied their eligible children and wards From been vaccinations against polio.

Not comfortable with the deelopment, the UNICEF consultant on Means Vaccination Campaign, Mary Yusuf Bajani, said Nigeria “ has conducted several Measles Vaccination campaign to help reach the children that could not be reached with the routine immediately system.”

Sad that the campaign have not met the coverage target (95 per cent), she observed that in 2015 campaign, the national average was 84.5 per cent, the outcome which she said “ not good enough.”

Collaborating the Executive Secretary, she beckoned at journalists, to assist the agency to Create level of awareness among the people especially those domiciling in the rural areas of the state.