Ensure no child is left without adequate vaccination, Oyo govt urges mothers

Oyo State Government has told mothers to ensure that no child is left without adequate vaccination to reduce their vulnerability to illnesses and other health promotion services.

Executive Secretary, Oyo State Primary Health Care Board, Dr Muideen Olatunji, speaking at the flag-off of the second round of optimised Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (oMNCHW) in Ibadan, said it was an opportunity for children with missed vaccine doses to have it and other health promotion services and women to assess reproductive health services, including malaria diagnosis and treatment.

Olatunji, represented by the director for Disease Control and Immunisation, Dr Oluyemi Osoko said the integrated services being provided include immunisation, family planning services, Vitamin A supplementation, COVID-19 vaccination, malaria diagnosis and treatment, HIV screening and ferrous, Folic acid and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine for pregnant women.

He said within the last six months, some children would have missed many health services, particularly vaccination, because they were not brought to the health facility, leaving them vulnerable to illnesses that can jeopardise their lives.

According to Dr Olatunji, “They are not covered; so they are vulnerable. We don’t want them to catch any sicknesses that will affect their health or even jeopardise their life. That’s why this catch-up becomes very important.

“We are also using that as an opportunity to call the attention of a caregiver to their responsibility to always bring their children to have free primary health care services that are available in all our health facilities.”

Executive Secretary of Oyo State Agency for the Control of AIDS (OYSACA), Dr Lanre Abass stated that the twice-yearly Integrated Maternal and Child Health Week is also a reminder that the government has provided different health services that particularly mothers and children should not miss for their wellbeing.

He said the catch-up exercise was also an opportunity for HIV testing and urged individuals to endeavour to know their HIV status.

“And of course, we still encourage people, even after the week, to visit primary healthcare facilities whenever they have issues. And even if there is nothing, they should still do medical check-ups as necessary,” Dr Abass added.

Chairman of Ibadan North East Local Government, Mr Ibrahim Akintayo, represented by Mr Adebisi Aderibigbe, called on men to support their wives and children to assess health services at PHCs closest to their homes.

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