Data released by the Akwa Ibom State Government shows that the state has vaccinated 1.29 million children in the ongoing nationwide Measles–Rubella immunisation campaign, just six days after the exercise commenced in the state.
The immunisation campaign targets children to protect them against measles and rubella, two highly contagious viral diseases that remain a major cause of childhood illness and death in Nigeria despite the availability of effective vaccines.
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Nigeria periodically conducts mass immunisation campaigns as part of efforts to close immunity gaps, reduce the number of “zero-dose” children who have never received any routine vaccine and meet national and global public health targets.
The Commissioner for Health in Akwa Ibom, Ekem Emmanuel, posted the data on his verified Facebook page on Monday, noting that the figure was recorded as of 12 noon on Day 6 of the campaign.
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According to him, the vaccination exercise, which began last Wednesday, is being implemented by the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Health through the State Primary Health Care Development Agency, with the backing of Governor Umo Eno.
Mr Emmanuel explained that data collation from the field was still ongoing and that not all figures for Monday had been fully uploaded and disaggregated at the time of the update.
He said preliminary aggregated results already showed strong performance across the state’s 31 local government areas.
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“I am pleased to inform you that as of 12 p.m. today (Day 6 of the campaign), we have vaccinated over 1.3 million children,” the commissioner said.
Although the commissioner said the number of vaccinated children was over 1.3 million, the data he posted showed N1.29 million.
The health commissioner acknowledged the roles played by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Frank Archibong, the leadership of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria in the state, and council chairpersons, while describing frontline health workers as the “real heroes” of the campaign.
Mr Emmanuel said the state government is committed to ensuring that no child is left behind, and that Akwa Ibom is determined to eliminate deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases.
“Our commitment is clear that no Akwa Ibom child should ever die from a vaccine-preventable illness,” he stated.
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