By Abdallah el-Kurebe
During the past three months, one million children have been immunized against measles and other child-killer diseases in Sokoto state.
A statement signed by the Special Adviser to Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal on Media, Imam Imam stated that the Commissioner of Health, Shehu Kakale briefed governor Aminu Waziri on progress of the ongoing immunisation efforts in the state where he explained that the renewed commitment by the government had resulted in reaching many remote locations for the administering of vaccines on children.
According to the statement, efforts to improve quality, efficacy and storage of vaccines included the provision of cold stores in rural areas by the state government to ensure that children at the grassroots level got vaccinated on time.
Kakale further told Tambuwal that stakeholders in the health sector had adopted the ‘Tambuwal Initiative,’ which aims to enhance the work of health field officers in their localities.
“The Tambuwal Initiative came about after the Governor introduced new measures to boost immunisation and healthcare activities. These measures include setting aside two hours of his time every month to chair the meeting of the steering committee on immunisation in the state, directing top government functionaries, led by the Deputy Governor, to chair the bi-monthly meeting on polio.
“Also, the initiative ensures that the Governor, through the ministry for local government, takes charge of the payment of entitlements of officials for Routine Immunisation (RI) and Immunisation Plus Day (IPDs), personally taking charge of engagement with all non-compliant communities and assigning all local government areas to cabinet members to ensure hands-on approach in dealing with immunisation and other health issues,” Kakale added.
The Commissioner said even though there are cases of parents skeptical about having their children immunised, the number has reduced drastically, due to enlightenment campaigns and community dialogue embarked upon by the state government in collaboration with religious and traditional leaders.
Posted by Abdallah el-kurebe
