Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Douye, yesterday, received an international award presented by the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in conjunction with the African Field Epidemiology Network (AfriNET).

The Commissioner for Health, Prof. Seiyefa Brisibe, who made the presentation during the 193rd state executive council meeting in the Government House, Yenagoa, said the administration was honoured for the state’s remarkable strides in immunisation and disease surveillance.

He explained that following an assessment visit by the Global Immunisation Division of the United States Embassy in July this year, Bayelsa was recognised for successfully immunising more than 30,000 children and reducing the number of zero-dose children from 4,000 to 2,100 within one year.

The Health Commissioner also attributed the international recognition to the state’s partnership with Zipline, which has significantly improved the delivery of vaccines and other essential medical commodities to difficult-to-reach riverine communities through drones.

Brisibe stated that Bayelsa also had an outstanding performance in implementing the malaria vaccine pilot programme, ranking first among participating states.

According to him, other notable achievements were the training and deployment of over 720 primary healthcare workers to strengthen immunisation services, particularly in hard-to-reach riverine communities, and the deployment of tricycle ambulances and integration of cottage hospitals into the primary healthcare system to expand access to essential health services.

The Commissioner for Education, Dr Gentle Emelah, who also briefed the council, said Bayelsa came fifth in the country in the recent teachers’ Professional Qualifying Examination conducted by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).

He noted that the ranking validated the Prosperity Administration’s sustained investment in improving the quality of education, noting that the state had only recently emerged first nationwide in the National Examinations Council (NECO) ranking in the number of candidates that obtained five credits and above in its examinations.

Responding to the presentations, Diri commended the Ministry of Health for its dedication but challenged the team to intensify effort towards eliminating the remaining zero-dose cases.