The Benue State Government has vaccinated more than 300 children at the temporary Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp housing those displaced from Yelewata against Measles-Rubella (MR) and Oral Polio Virus (OPV).
The displaced persons are currently camped at the premises of the Makurdi International Market in Makurdi.
The government is carrying out a large-scale, integrated vaccination campaign aimed at protecting children from diseases such as measles, rubella, polio, and the Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
Mrs. Benedicta Aboh, Chief Supervisor of the Integrated Vaccination Campaign Fixed Team, told journalists on Sunday in Makurdi that the exercise commenced on Saturday.
Aboh said although her team covers Guma Local Government Area, the Yelewata IDPs fall within their operational area, hence their decision to conduct immunization at the camp.
According to her, more than 250 children were vaccinated on the first day of the exercise.
She explained that the team was administering routine immunization for children aged 0–23 months, MR for children aged nine months to 14 years, OPV for 0–59 months, HPV for girls aged nine years, as well as drugs for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC).
Aboh noted that no case of resistance or zero immunization had been recorded so far, adding that more rounds of immunization would be conducted to cover all eligible children.
Also speaking, the State Immunization Officer, Mr. Innocent Adega, told reporters that the state received 2.7 million doses of MR and 2.3 million doses of OPV for the campaign.
Adega said the campaign was fully integrated, with other routine immunizations being administered concurrently.
He explained that 1,110 fixed teams and 1,274 sweep (house-to-house) teams were deployed across the 23 local government areas for the exercise.
The campaign, which began on October 18, will last for 10 days, ending on October 27, with two additional mop-up days planned.
Adega added that the exercise was progressing smoothly with no major challenges reported.
