Delta State governor Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has kicked off the campaign for immunization against polio with a call on Deltans to be alert and sensitive as the decease carried the burden of lifelong disability.
Dr. Uduaghan who immunized children at Asaba as part of the quarterly sensitization campaign also called on Local Government Councils and Primary care development agency to organize and fund special teams that would provide supportive supervision during immunization campaigns.
He tasked the Ministry of health, the Primary Care Development Agency as well Government teams to ensure that all non compliance cases were properly managed to totally eliminate the phenomenon.
The governor who also charged the Primary Health care Development Agency to redouble effort in order to make the state polio free promised to make the Health Agencies more functional to be alive to the current challenges.
Alerting Deltans that the state was not yet polio free he enjoined health agencies to properly protect available vaccines so that outdated ones were not used.
His words “Polio is deadly and has paralyzed children and it is our responsibility to guard against such misfortune. Follow your regime of treatment religiously”.
Asking mothers whether they ever saw a polio patient the governor said “It is always a useless case and no one should out of carelessness allow their children suffer such a terrible fate”.
Dr. Uduaghan charged fathers to take more interest in the immunization of their children and not leave the responsibility of treatment and immunization to their wives alone.
He cautioned against the politicization of the exercise even as he explained that the quarterly campaign was aimed at reminding people that the country was not yet free from polio”.
His words “Anywhere you are please help to eradicate polio. This is not an issue that should be politicized because polio is deadly and should be eradicated”.
In his speech the state Commissioner for Health Dr. Joseph Otumara appealed to Local governments to dedicate more resources to primary health care.
He charged the local governments to fund primary health care more robust to compliment the effort of the state government.
Dr Joseph Otumara disclosed that the state government has taken stringent steps to strength the cold chain system to preserve vaccines in the state.
The Commissioner also disclosed that the state government has deplored community health extension workers to health centres in the rural areas to speed up immunization process.
He announced that officers of the primary care development agency could henceforth adopt one local government at a time and provide the required technical support.
He appealed to community leaders and religious bodies to help mobilize mothers so that they would embrace the programme.
Welcoming guests to the ceremony the HPM Oshimili South Local Government Mr. Phillip Agbeyeke described poliomyelitis as a menace which should be promptly checked.
Mr. Agbeyeke said the decease has created social problems in the society and reminded parents the need to urgently embrace the programme.
Highlight of the programme was the immunization of children by the governor.
The Senator representing Delta North and Senator representing Delta South participated in immunizing children.
Other dignitaries who assisted in immunizing children include the Deputy Speaker state house of Assembly Hon. Basil Ganagana, Head of Service Oke Ofili, Chief of Staff Governmentt House Dr. Festus Okubor, Commissioners and other top government functionaries.
