The Kwara state government has debunked rumours of alleged forceful public health interventions aimed at citizens and residents of the state, emphasising that all health interventions by the state government are of high quality and aimed at reducing mortality.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, on Tuesday, the state commissioner for health, Dr Amina Ahmed El-Imam, stated that certain messages circulating among the people regarding forceful polio vaccination and other public health interventions are disinformation and misinformation.
Audio messages on social media had circulated claiming that the vaccination team of the state government would be accompanied by military personnel between October 10 and 11, 2023, to force children to take polio vaccines.
“This is not only ridiculous but completely and utterly untrue. None of the comprehensive vaccination programmes by the Ministry of Health involve any forceful components.
It’s not mandatory. We have never coerced parents or utilised military personnel for children to take any of the vaccines distributed by health ministry agencies.”
The commissioner emphasized that the state government is actively engaged in various ongoing public health initiatives, such as polio and measles, and all interventions are verified by health experts in the state.
“A team of doctors, public health experts, and administrators always examine the drugs, vaccines, and other interventions provided from any source, including the federal ministry, before administering them to the people of Kwara state.”
“People accept our vaccines because they trust us. When they hear these rumours, it damages their trust. We are determined to continue safeguarding the health of our children, women, elderly, youth, and everybody else. Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s health interventions aim for the betterment of citizens and residents of the state.”
Dr El-Imam pointed out that the issue of disinformation and misinformation in public health engagements, vaccination, and immunisation has been persistent for a long time and is not peculiar to Nigeria or Kwara state.
“It happened with COVID-19, Lassa fever, and polio vaccination. COVID-19 brought about two pandemics—the COVID-19 pandemic and infodemics.
This has persisted. People tend to distrust the pandemic. However, we reassure the people that we are determined to continue making things work well in Kwara State.
Vaccines save five lives per minute. Every rumour about vaccines and vaccinations is not true. We took vaccines in our early lives, and we are alive today.”
She also reminded residents to embrace insecticide-treated nets (ITN) when the distribution starts on October 18 to reduce mortality associated with malaria.
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