Mothers, stakeholders, civil societies, religious and traditional leaders in Ogun State have been charged to support in propagating the importance of measles and rubella vaccine in Ogun state.
Wife of Ogun state governor, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun gave this charge today at the sensitization program organized by her Ajose Foundation in partnership with Center for Well-being and Integrated Solutions (CWINS) for local government chairmen's wives and stakeholders across the state on Measles and Rubella Vaccine scheduled to roll out nationwide in October.
Mrs. Abiodun while charging the wives of the local government chairmen and other stakeholders to take the campaign to the grassroots, said the program is in partnership with the Centre for Well-being and Integrated Nutrition Solutions (C-WINS), and the Nigerian Governors' Spouses as part of efforts at safeguarding the health and future of Nigerian Children.
Mrs. Abiodun said "According to the WHO, measles remains one of the leading causes of death among under-five children in Nigeria. In 2023 alone, the world witnessed over 10 million cases and a staggering 136,000 deaths. In our own country, measles outbreaks were recorded in 37 local government areas across 13 states.
Families continue to bear emotional, financial, and health-related burdens as a result of this preventable disease. It is hard to imagine that more than 60 years after the measles vaccine was first introduced, we are still experiencing outbreaks in our country." She added.
The First Lady further said "Even more concerning is the silent threat of rubella, a disease often masked by measles but with devastating consequences. Rubella can lead to congenital rubella syndrome, which causes lifelong disabilities such as blindness, deafness, heart defects, and neurological challenges. The introduction of the combined Measles-Rubella (M-R) vaccine presents us with a powerful opportunity to prevent 2.8 million deaths in Nigeria and significantly reduce the global burden of these diseases."
She disclosed that the M-R vaccine is not only a life-saving intervention, but also an investment in the future of the children by preventing the spread of deadly diseases and avoiding the costs of long term disability and hospitalizations noting that when the lives of children are saved, they grow up to be productive citizens.
She enjoined mothers and stakeholders in the State to make the health of the children a priority by embracing M.R vaccine and educate others about it's importance and the urge to save children from measles and rubella.
Mrs. Abiodun added that "Let us also raise awareness, counter misinformation, and ensure that no child is left behind. We have a lot of vaccine skeptics around us and on social media, who peddle conspiracy theories and fake news to scare unsuspecting parents into hiding their children from being vaccinated. The ones who are doing it innocently, who may have been misinformed, we need to re-educate them. These are the same vaccines that we received as children, that protected us from polio, whooping cough, yellow fever and many other deadly diseases. It has not changed".
In his address, the Special Adviser to the governor on Health, Dr. Tayo Lawal highlighted education and engagement as two effective ways of sensitizing the communities about the M.R Vaccine.
He said there must be accurate and accessible information about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine by organizing workshops, distribution of pamphlets and utilizing social media platforms to reach a wider audience.
Dr. Lawal, opined that families should be engaged directly through hosting question and answer sessions with healthcare professionals to help address concerns and dispel myths adding that personal stories from those who have experienced the consequences of these diseases could also be powerful motivators of vaccination.
Representative of CWINS, Mrs. Temitope Orji, in her message, called for the partnership of mothers to be able to record success in the vaccination program.
While commending the Ogun State government who according to her had continually blazed the trail in policies and agenda to protect the present generation and the ones to come, she pledged her organization's continued support for the state.
