The Ekiti State Government, in the last 11 months, has vaccinated over 266,429 eligible girls in the state against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), which is the most commonly transmitted infection and a leading cause of cervical cancer.
The Wife of the Ekiti State Governor, Dr Olayemi Oyebanji, made this disclosure in Ado-Ekiti during a one-day stakeholders’ sensitisation meeting on the introduction of Measles-Rubella vaccines in Ekiti State.
Oyebanji said that the HPV vaccination exercise, which she flagged off in May 2024, was a great success, noting that it reached targeted communities and helped protect children against cervical cancer.
The governor’s wife explained that the introduction of the Measles-Rubella vaccines was a very crucial step towards protecting Ekiti children, particularly those in the target age group of 9–14 years, from these diseases.
She also called on all women in the state to regularly screen their breasts using the mammography machine at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, noting that the process was both affordable and accessible.
Earlier, in his address, the Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Oyebanji Filani, noted that the Measles-Rubella vaccines would be rolled out nationally in October 2025, adding that the state was taking proactive steps to sensitise residents ahead of the date to ensure adequate public awareness.
Filani urged stakeholders at the event to serve as champions of the vaccination campaigns and called on parents and guardians to ensure their children are properly immunised against these deadly diseases.
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In their goodwill messages, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Peju Babafemi; a former Commissioner for Information, Mrs Ronke Okusanya; Chairman, State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Funke Ogunbunmi; State Coordinator, WHO, Pharm. Akeem Busari; and the representative of the Centre for Well-being and Integrated Nutrition Solution (C-WINS), Dr Dele Ojo, all described immunisation as one of the most impactful public health interventions. They noted that the addition of Rubella and Measles vaccines marks a significant milestone in the fight against preventable diseases.
They urged stakeholders to embrace the initiative to ensure that no life is lost to any preventable illness and that Ekiti continues to set a shining example in public health.
Other dignitaries at the event included the Permanent Secretaries of the Ministries of Health and Women Affairs, Mrs Olusola Gbenga-Igotun and Mrs Tayo Olatilu respectively; Executive Secretary of SPHCDA, Dr Rasheed Adepoju; CAN President, Ekiti State Chapter, Dr Emmanuel Aribasoye; Grand Imam of the South West, Edo and Delta, Alhaji Jamiu Keulere; the Wife of the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Eyesorun Abosede Adejugbe, and other prominent Oloris, Local Government Chairpersons, among others.
Participants at the mobilisation meeting also included health development partners, medical and health professionals, political leaders from the grassroots, women’s associations and leaders, nursing mothers, among others.
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