The Executive Chairman of Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB), Prof. Hyginus Banko Okibe, has disclosed that the board is ready to partner with the State Primary Health Care Development Agency (ENPHCDA) to ensure the success of the immunisation campaign against measles and other epidemic diseases in the state.
Prof. Okibe stated this on Thursday in Enugu when he received in audience, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Agency, Dr. Ifeyinwa Ani-Osheku, and other senior delegation from the health sector, who were on a courtesy visit to his office.
The chairman stressed that the partnership was essential as it would open doors for further discussions on relevant areas and other issues of collaboration such as data collection from schools for effective implementation of the immunization exercise in the state.
He thanked Dr. Ani-Osheku and the team for the visit and promised to help domesticate some of the issues they raised in order to ensure healthy living for children in the state.
While expressing optimism that measles and other viral diseases would be stamped out of the state, the ENSUBEB boss described measles as one of the childhood diseases that could be fatal and urged the agency not to relent in its effort to make the state disease-free.
“All relevant stakeholders must be carried along in this lofty and commendable journey. You and your team have started well, and we are more than ready to collaborate with you to continue to make our state safe for our children,” he added.
He lauded the state governor, Dr Peter Mbah, for the improved quality of life his administration had made possible through significant investment in the health sector.
On her part, the Executive Secretary, told the chairman that their visit was part of their plan to establish a robust and fruitful relationship with the education body in order to enhance effective healthcare delivery in the state.
Ani-Osheku, who used the occasion to seek the collaboration with the board to secure the children’s health through immunization and also ensure that they have the requisite vaccine against measles, said the relationship would also help to fight other childhood diseases.
She explained that they came with representatives of their partners in the health sector, including the World Health Organisation, United Nations Children’s Fund, among others, adding that Primary Health Centres in the state were already working with those partners to guarantee children’s health with the right immunization vaccines.
“Measles is a highly contagious disease that spreads easily when infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes and can cause severe disease, complications, leading to blindness, ear infection, possible brain diseases and even death.
“Immunization is the best way to prevent measles and stop it from spreading to other people because any non-immune person can become infected while unvaccinated young children and pregnant persons are at highest risk of severe measles complication,” she added.
Dr. Chinelo Nnadi, the Director Disease Control and Immunization Enugu State, said that her team aimed to forge collaboration with the board as a vanguard to reach the education officers and stakeholders, including teachers and parents to allow the team administer the vaccine.
She lamented that Nigeria was certified polio-free at a time, but there had been a resurgence of the disease.
Baraba Nonso, a UNICEF Officer in charge of Social Behaviour who was a member of the team, said that they were known to support programmes that impact on children and women.
