150,000 under-five children earmarked for Rotavirus vaccination in Kwara

Kwara State government has targeted at least 150,000 children under five years of age to be vaccinated against Rotavirus in the 16 Local Government Areas of the state.

Speaking at the flag-off of the introduction of the Rotavirus vaccine into routine immunisation in the state of Ilorin on Monday, the executive secretary of the state Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Nusirat Elelu, said that rotavirus vaccine would reduce illnesses and deaths from diarrhoeal diseases by about 40 per cent, thereby saving more lives of children under five years of age.

Elelu, who said that, globally, rotaviruses infect nearly every child aged under 5 years, adding that they are the leading cause of severe, dehydrating diarrhoea in children.

She also said that all arrangements had been put in place to ensure all children earmarked for the Rotavirus vaccination are covered, adding that the agency would commence the exercise with a 10-day intensification of the vaccination in all health centres across the 16 local government areas of the state.

Also speaking at the event, the wife of the Kwara State governor, Mrs Olufolake Abdulrazaq, said that Rotavirus is one of the leading causes of diarrhoea disease in the world and is responsible for over 40 per cent of diarrhoea in children.

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“It is also the most frequent cause of severe diarrhoea, accounting for about 215,000 of the global 525,000 under-5 mortality attributed to diarrheal diseases each year,” she said.

The wife of the governor also enjoined parents, guardians and caregivers to present their eligible children and wards to the nearest Primary Health Care Centre for the vaccine and other routine vaccines that were in the system until their children are fully vaccinated, saying that the rotavirus vaccine is free, safe and effective at preventing diarrhoea disease caused by the rotavirus.

In his address, the state commissioner for Health, Dr Raji Razaq, urged people to support the state government’s efforts in transforming the health sector.

He said that the state government had renovated over 245 primary health centres in the last three years to make access to health care easier.

He thanked the Federal Government for making Rotavirus and other vaccines available to save the lives of children in the state.

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150,000 under-five children earmarked for Rotavirus vaccination in Kwara

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150,000 under-five children earmarked for Rotavirus vaccination in Kwara