Oyo Govt. Targets 1.5m Children For Vitamin A Supplementation

By
Kazeem Tunde
-
778
A baby girl watches a health worker inject a vaccine against measles into her arm at a hospital in Bossangoa, the town where a national immunization campaign is being launched. The Government, UNICEF and partner NGOs are providing vaccines against measles to children under five at 885 locations around the country.In December 2008 in the Central African Republic, a Government-launched immunization campaign supported by UNICEF and several NGOs administered measles vaccines to over 660,000 children under the age of five. As part of the campaign, UNICEF also distributed soap and insecticide-treated mosquito nets to over 740,000 children and their mothers. The efforts aim to improve child survival in one of the world’s least developed countries, where access to health care and clean water is now also disrupted by an ongoing civil conflict. Over 17 per cent of children die before their fifth birthdays, many from malnutrition, waterborne diseases or vaccine-preventable illnesses. In the past year, UNICEF has responded to multiple health crises in the country, including yellow fever outbreaks, by supporting hand-washing campaigns and immunization programmes. The immunization campaign against measles was launched in Bossangoa, a town in the conflict-affected north-western region.

Oyo Govt. Targets 1.5m Children For Vitamin A Supplementation

The Oyo State Government has said it is targeting about 1.5million children amounting to 85% coverage of under 5 children as the beneficiaries of Vitamin A supplementation that will be administered on them during the forthcoming Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) week.

The State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Azeez Adeduntan, who stated this at the weekend while giving update on the preparation of the State Government towards the MNCH week coming up between May 29-June 2, 2017, said that parents of children between 6months to 59months are expected to bring their wards to the health facilities and outreach centres provided by the government for the programme.

Dr. Adeduntan said that Vitamin A is essential for the targeted children in order to boost their immune system, improve their sight as well as to prevent measles and other related skin diseases.

The Commissioner said that MNCH week will be held in 1404 health facilities across the state, explaining “we have selected two health facility centers and two outreaches in each of the 351 wards throughout the state. This amount to 1404 selected locations where the MNCH week will hold.”

Dr. Adeduntan said that during MNCH week, pregnant women, nursing mothers and children between 0-59 months will be the beneficiaries of free Nutrition and Health interventions including Vitamin A, HIV Screening, Malnutrition Screening, adding that there will also be provision of Family planning commodities, birth registration, deworming tablets for children of 12-59 months as well as provision of Malaria drugs for pregnant women.

“Pregnant women and Nursing mothers are therefore reminded that this 5-day nutrition and health interventions are free. Based on our consultations, we can reliably say that Ramadan does not prevent pregnant women from taking tetanus toxoid vaccines,” Dr. Adeduntan emphasized.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR