Governor Otti’s wife laments loss of lives to preventable diseases

Wife of Governor Dr. Alex Otti of Abia State, Priscilla Chidinma Otti, has lamented the loss of many lives to vaccine-preventable diseases and consequently commenced sensitization and mobilization of the citizenry for the vaccination of children with the Measles-Rubella Vaccine to prevent them from contracting measles.

Speaking during the meeting tagged “Measles-Rubella Introduction Advocacy in Abia State,” held over the weekend at Government House, Umuahia, the state capital, for wives of the state’s 17 Council Chairmen (Mayors) and stakeholders, including community leaders, Mrs. Otti lamented that many lives were lost to vaccine-preventable diseases.

Represented at the meeting by the State Women Affairs Commissioner, Dr. Maureen Uzoukwa, the governor’s wife decried the misinformation about the vaccine, asserting that the Measles-Rubella Vaccine is safe, effective, and life-saving.

She said, “The truth is that millions of children have been safely vaccinated, and it is because of vaccination that measles and rubella have been drastically reduced in many countries.”

She consequently charged the Mayors’ wives to advocate and solicit their husbands’ support and collaborate with other stakeholders and community leaders to ensure proper activities towards successful sensitisation campaigns and the ultimate success of the vaccination programs in their domains and across Abia State.

“Kindly intensify awareness creation for the Measles-Rubella Vaccine introduction and work with me through aggressive sensitization to achieve at least 95% vaccine coverage. Also, lead the campaign activities by flagging them off before full implementation in your respective LGAs,” Mrs. Otti enjoined them.

According to her, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated, “As of 2023, approximately 83% of children globally received their first dose of a measles-containing vaccine by their second birthday, and 74% received two doses.”

However, in Nigeria, the coverage rates are significantly lower, with only about 60% of children receiving the first dose and just 38% receiving the second dose.

Stating that this suboptimal coverage has led to frequent outbreaks, she cited an instance where, in the first half of 2023 alone, Nigeria reported 297 measles outbreaks, resulting in approximately 16,000 suspected cases and at least 70 deaths, pointing out that these statistics underscored the urgent need for increased vaccination coverage and accurate information dissemination.

In his address, the State Health Commissioner, Professor Enoch Ogbonnaya Uche, said that the event marked a concerted effort to sensitize and raise the Abia citizenry’s awareness of measles and rubella, diseases that are potentially fatal and disabling but preventable. He described this campaign as a herald to a massive immunization against these two deadly diseases using the new vaccine—MRV—planned for early next year.

“This campaign is part of Her Excellency’s (Mrs. Otti) dogged contribution to the Blueprint of the Comprehensive Health Programme of the state governor, Dr. Alex Otti, which also aligns with the renewed hope agenda of the Federal Government.

“Measles and rubella are two distinct viral illnesses that share similar characteristics, including a red rash.
Measles (Rubeola) is a highly contagious airborne disease characterized by high fever, cough, rash, and red eyes. Measles can be complicated by pneumonia and a rare but highly fatal brain inflammation known as subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, which may occur months to years after the infection.”

According to the Health Commissioner, 1 to 3 children out of every 1,000 cases of measles die from the Rubeola disease (German Measles), and between the year 2000 and 2023, scientific reports predicted that measles vaccination was likely to have prevented over 60 million deaths.

Consequently, he posited that since measles and rubella are enemy diseases, we should not court or embrace them by refusing vaccination, which is a time-tested, globally acceptable preventive strategy.