The Kwara State Government, in collaboration with the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, has flagged off a 5-day integrated health campaign on maternal and newborn and child health week (MNCHW), HPV vaccination, and routine immunisation, targeting 200,000 pregnant women and 800,000 female children aged 9 years and above.
This was made known by the Executive Secretary of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Professor Nusirat Elelu, during a sensitization programme organized for the selected media practitioners in the state on Friday, 28th of November, in Ilorin, the state capital.
Speaking on behalf of Elelu, the Director of Primary Healthcare Systems, Dr. Michael Oguntoye said the programme will run for 5 days, starting from November 29 to December 3, 2025, across all the 16 Local Government Areas of the state.
“The vaccination is basically for women and children and our target population would receive life-saving interventions such as deworming, vitamin A supplementation, and other nutrition-sensitive services.
“The campaign is designed to promote preventive healthcare and reduce mortality rates among vulnerable populations.”
In his remark, a Health Specialist with UNICEF, Kaduna Office, Dr Ahmed Tsofo, commended the Kwara State Governor for his proactive measures in the health sector and quick Implementation of health programmes assuring continued support of the UNICEF in the healthcare sector.
He said HPV vaccination targets girls aged 9 years and above, “particularly those who were not reached during the previous campaign”.
Also speaking, World Health Organization, WHO Kwara State Coordinator, Dr Eyitayo Emmanuel, represented by the organization’s Public Health Officer, Dr. Gwomson Dauda, made a presentation on the lessons learned during the Rubella-Measles Vaccination Campaign earlier held this year.
Dr Emmanuel called for timely and strategic stakeholders engagement, monitoring and evaluation, improved security as well as non-interference by political actors in the selection process of field workers, as necessary for successful health interventions.
He also noted that insecurity in some local government areas had hampered health workers’ access to certain communities and called for strengthened security measures to ensure that no child or mother is left behind.
Also in his goodwill message, Oluwaseun Oladoye, on behalf of Corona Management Systems said that immunization protects children from preventable diseases, one of which is polio.
These vaccines help to build immunity and prevent the spread of these diseases in our community, ensuring children grow up healthy and strong. Polio mainly affects children under five years of age, and one in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis. 5 to 10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized.
“We must understand that as long as a single child remains infected, other children in our community and country at large are at risk of contracting polio. Therefore, this media dialogue became imperative in our bid to totally eradicate polio. We enjoin you as change agents to spread the news of this campaign as widely as possible in a way that it gets to each household in Kwara state and beyond”.
