Ahead of the commencement of the integrated vaccination campaign today, the coordinator of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Riyom local government area of Plateau State, Mr Sunday Baren, has appealed to parents in and around the camp to avail their children to be immunised against polio and measles.
Baren made the appeal while speaking to LEADERSHIP on the need for the children in the camp to be vaccinated.
The camp coordinator who also acknowledged the presence of vaccination team in the camp last year vowed to mobilise support for the success of the programme in view of its importance in the lives of the children who are the leaders of tomorrow.
In the same vein, a Social Behaviour Change specialist of United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) Bauchi Field Office, George Eki while speaking at the media orientation for the Integrated Vaccination Campaigns organised for journalists tasked them to go beyond the headlines and avoid sensationalism that eventually comes to damage campaigns.
He noted that they have decided to seek media support for the success of the campaigns inview of the critical roles they played in disseminating information to the general public.
According to him, the campaign will commence in Plateau, Gombe, Bauchi and Adamawa states for the North this September, while the children will be administered polio and measles vaccines in their respective states stressing that the aim is to ensure that no child is left behind in term of vaccination.
He argued that the reasons for the integration vaccines is to reduce time, fatigue, cost and material.
Eki further disclosed that some of the expected challenges of the integrated vaccination campaign include rumours, misinformation, vaccine rejection and non-compliance, pointing out that as journalists, it is important to have the correct information about the campaign because it increases awareness, confidence and uptake and knowledge of the vaccines.
Eki further explained that the media should also take the lead by promoting the benefits, dispelling rumours/ misinformation about the vaccines, and becoming the source of credible information.
The one-day media orientation meeting was organised by the Gombe Primary Health Development Agency with support from UNICEF across four implementing states of Plateau, Gombe, Adamawa and Bauchi on the upcoming integrated vaccination campaign.