By Abujah Racheal
The Cross River Government has reiterated its commitment to eliminating measles rubella in the state.
Dr Vivien Otu, Director-General, Cross River Primary Health Care Development Agency (CRSPHCDA), gave the assurance on Tuesday during the ongoing Measles-Rubella (MR) Integrated Campaign Phase 2, in Calabar.
Otu said the agency had already vaccinated over 70 per cent of its target, reaching children through schools, churches, and community centres across the state.
According to her, the introduction of the measles-rubella vaccine is something that paediatricians are very happy about because even a single case of congenital rubella syndrome is devastating.
“We are very excited because this will address the disease and its complications in our community.
“When a woman is pregnant, especially during her first trimester, and comes into contact with the disease and becomes infected, it can lead to congenital rubella syndrome.
“We have rubella circulating in various parts of the country. If we have this vaccine, it will drastically reduce the number of rubella cases. Additionally, it can help us achieve eradication in the state.
“We are very pleased about the measles-rubella vaccine; it represents a huge step. And we look forward to a Cross River State free of rubella and measles.
“As a state, we are committed to making vaccine-preventable diseases a thing of the past among our children. This will tremendously improve our health indicators and reduce the under-5 mortality rate.”
She said that as at Monday, more than 1.48 million children have been vaccinated, representing 76 per cent coverage according to e-Tally data, while call-in reports recorded 1.28 million children vaccinated (64 per cent coverage).
She also said that daily settlement reached had exceeded plans, with 5,720 settlements reached out of 5,122 planned.
She explained that the MR campaign also include supportive supervision to ensure the quality and safety of vaccinations.
“A total of 5,535 supervisory visits had been conducted across all 18 LGAs, covering 181 wards, 1,018 vaccination teams, and 906 settlements.
“Agencies contributing to supervision included CDC, AFENET, CORE Group, CHS, GAVI, THFEL, IVAC, PFMO, SOLINA, UNICEF, and WHO, supporting training, monitoring, and problem-solving in the field,” she said.
The director general CRSPHCDA added that supervisory outcomes indicated high compliance and preparedness, with 99 per cent of teams visited having the DIP (Daily Immunisation Plan) available.
She said that the rapid supervisory system ensured that vaccination teams were supported in real time, contributing to overall campaign success.
She urged parents and caregivers to ensure that children within the target age group were vaccinated, assuring that the state government and health agencies were fully mobilised to reach even the most remote communities.
Similarly, Mr Francis Fatoye, PHC Performance Management Lead at Solina Centre for International Development and Research (SCIDaR), said that what had made Calabar successful during the campaign was the daily use of evidence to guide action.
He explained that teams reviewed data each day, comparing targets with the number of children vaccinated and identifying areas of non-compliance that required immediate resolution.
According to him, this evidence-based approach informed operational decisions, including the early collection and distribution of ice packs to maintain the vaccine cold chain before teams were deployed.
Fatoye noted that feedback from daily field activities shaped the following day’s logistics and team movement, allowing implementers to adjust strategies in real time and keep the campaign on track for successful delivery across Calabar.
In the same vein, Mrs Goodness Hadley, the National Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilisation Technical Support to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) from the Johns Hopkins International Vaccine Access Centre (IVAC), said extensive and continuous communication and grassroots engagement strengthened vaccine acceptance in the state.
Hadley said IVAC was also on ground supporting ongoing advocacy to relevant stakeholders, as well as efforts aimed at resolving cases of non-compliance, to ensure improved uptake of the Measles–Rubella vaccine during the campaign.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria rolled out one of its largest vaccination drives, aiming to protect 106 million children against measles, rubella, and polio.
The campaign targets children zero to 14 years for measles-rubella and zero to 59 months for polio delivered through fixed and outreach points, as well as house-to-house teams.
A new combined measles-rubella vaccine will replace the measles-only version. Preparations include training, upgraded payment systems, and improved data management to ensure efficiency and accountability.
Led by the government and supported by WHO, UNICEF, Gavi, Rotary, and the Gates Foundation, the campaign emphasises community engagement, strong coordination, and building trust to move closer to eliminating preventable childhood diseases in Nigeria. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Deborah Coker
