A milestone of 700,000 children has been reached through the 2023 measles vaccination campaign spanning the 16 local government areas of Kwara State.
Dr. Nusirat Elelu, the Executive Secretary of Kwara State Primary Health Care Development Agency, shared this achievement during the 40th Media Parliament of the state council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Ilorin, the state capital.
At the event themed “Transforming Primary Health Care Beyond Lip Service,” Elelu emphasized how the vaccination efforts have fortified the immune systems of numerous children, equipping them to combat measles effectively.
She reported a notable absence of circulating variant polio virus (cVPV) outbreaks for almost 24 months, a significant improvement from the state’s highest cVPV report in 2019.
Elelu highlighted Kwara State’s commendable progress in vaccination coverage, ranking among the top three in the North Central geopolitical zone with a rate of 66.5 percent.
This marked a substantial improvement from the 2016 coverage of under one year olds, which stood at 33.9 percent.
The state’s removal from the immunization zero-dose category paved the way for enhanced routine immunization coverage.
Addressing COVID-19, Elelu noted that Kwara State emerged as the overall best in the country for vaccination against the virus, achieving over 80 percent vaccination coverage and earning recognition among the top five performing states.
The state’s innovative public health strategy during the COVID-19 vaccine introduction included the establishment of mass vaccination sites in the state Ministry of Health premises and marketplaces, leading to a doubling of vaccinated individuals from 42 percent to 82 percent within six months.
Furthermore, Elelu disclosed that the state provided free tablets of haematinic and anti-malaria drugs to 300,000 pregnant women across the 16 local government areas in 2023, surpassing the ANRiN target.
This achievement significantly reduced the number of pregnant women reported with severe anaemia, dropping from 1,508 to 570.
The Chairman of the state council of NUJ, Abdullateef Ahmed, emphasized the critical role of primary health and the need for adequate funding in the health sector.