In the small village of Ungwan Kanawa in Tankarau, Dutsen-Abba Ward of Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State, a tragic reality has sparked a life-saving transformation.
Many residents of the village lost their children to measles due to their resistance to vaccination.
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They stated this on Saturday in Kaduna at a medical outreach organised by the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board with support from UNICEF.
A cross-section of the residents said at the event that after witnessing the devastating effects of the disease, they were now embracing immunisation.
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The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the medical outreach was in commemoration of the African Vaccination/World Immunisation Week, which runs from 24 to 30h April.
It has the theme: “Vaccination for all is Humanly Possible.”
The field visit to the village was meant to be an opportunity to monitor the ongoing polio campaign.
It was also to observe and document the impact of mobile outreaches in a zero-dose ward/LGA.
One of the residents, Saudatu Safiyanu, said she lost four children out of six to measles and severe fever.
She added that whenever medical teams for vaccination visited the village, she shied away and hid their children.
Mrs Safiyanu said her husband was totally against vaccination.
She said she pleaded with her husband to let their children get immunised, but he refused.
“One day, some of the medical teams came for another vaccination in the village, but my husband still refused to let the only two surviving children we have be immunised,” she said.
“I then spoke to one of the officials to talk to my husband. He did and my husband agreed.
“Since then, my only surviving children are healthy and have not been critically ill to a point that we lose hope or even think of death.
“The vaccinators usually come to our village to persuade and plead with us to bring out our children for immunisation. Only a few houses comply.
“I observed that those complying are having healthy children who don’t usually fall sick.”
According to her, the refusal is always from the men, adding that the women were often willing to give their children for Immunisation.
“Every mother wants to see her child healthy.
“You could imagine the pain of losing four children after the whole suffering of carrying them for nine months each in the stomach, and then giving birth to them and they die,” the traumatised mother lamented.
Also, Adamu Musa of the same village, who lost two children, said they died of measles.
Mr Musa said he never believed in vaccination and thought it was an evil plot against rural children.
He, however, said he has now been made aware of the benefits and now allows all his children to be immunised.
He urged all men in the village to be informed and avail their children of immunisation, emphasising the positive health changes he has seen in his surviving children.
The Village Head of Ungwan Kanawa, Nasiru Yunusa, said two-thirds of the villagers were avoiding all the vaccinations being brought to them.
He, however, said that, with constant enlightenment and awareness, the villagers have now accepted the vaccination, decrying that only a few of them had yet to do so.
“Those houses that were very stubborn, unfortunately, got hit by measles which resulted in deaths.
“Now, we also have children who are on admission because of measles,” Mr Yunusa lamented.
He urged the villagers to accept all the different vaccinations that the government and its partners bring to the people.
He emphasised that they were not harmful, but aimed at ensuring healthy children and a healthy society.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the outreach, the UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Kaduna, Gerida Birukila, stated the importance of the week, adding that they were also engaging in polio vaccination.
She said that the community had a 100 per cent refusal for vaccination three years ago.
“As you have observed for yourself, there is now a serious measles outbreak.
“Several children have never been immunised, and as a result, they are suffering from measles.
“In one family of nine, they have already lost two children, and others are still sick.
“So, it is very important for the community to immunise their children,” she said.
Ms Birukila lamented that, under the backdrop of vaccine shortages, they were trying to find vaccines for measles.
“There is a shortage in the country, and it is really important that we secure predictable vaccination supplies for the children.
“We are facing many challenges, mainly parental refusal due to lack of belief in immunisation,” the UNICEF official lamented.
She, however, said that the community had started accepting immunisation following interventions by community, religious, and government leaders.
Ms Birukila stated that the government was also supporting other services like general healthcare in the community.
She appealed to parents, community, religious and traditional leaders, as well as the government and its partners, to encourage the uptake of immunisation in order to save lives.
Ms Birukila hoped that predictable funding for vaccination and immunisation would continue.
Also, the Director of Disease Control, Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board, Hamza Ikara, emphasised intensifying routine immunisation to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates nationwide.
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He lamented that many children in Ungwan Kanawa had fallen victim to measles due to a lack of immunisation or missed vaccinations, largely due to parental refusal and non-compliance.
Mr Ikara said that efforts were underway to strengthen surveillance, conduct re-vaccination, and sensitise household heads for vaccinations.
“Teams will visit the community today to vaccinate the children.
“The goal is to quickly stop the measles outbreak in the community and across the local government area through vaccination and outreach efforts,” he said.
(NAN)
