"Osun Zero-Polio Record Made Possible By Aregbesola's Love For Children" – Health Commissioner

Staff March 4, 2014

In order to rid the State of Osun and indeed Nigeria of the menace of Polio which is one of the six childhood killer diseases in the world. It has been advocated that children who falls below the age of 0 – 59 months should be immunized against polio.
This is one of the steps that would be needed to kick polio out of the state and the country.
In line with the battle waged by government against this diseases, the government of the State of Osun with the collaboration of its development partners such as World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) had flagged off a 4-Day oral Polio immunization exercise which commenced from Saturday, 1st of March, 2014.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony which was held on Friday February 28, 2014 at the Atelewo Health Centre, Old Panapapa, Olorunda Local Government Area of Osogbo, the State Capital, Governor Rauf Aregbesola, represented by the Deputy Governor; Mrs. Grace Titi Laoye Tomori stated that State Government of Osun being a children friendly administration was not unaware that many children in other state were affected by polio.
Tomori further explained that the government of the state of Osun is always interested in the affairs of Osun people especially the children.
“As this programme was kick-off, she said, government is aware that many children who are affected by this disease are brilliant and healthy children.”
Reiterating the promise of government to effectively cater for the health of its citizens, the Deputy Governor assured that the present administration was doing all it could to ensure that children in the state were not affected by Polio again.
While admitting that Polio disease was a worldwide phenomenon after its outbreak, she disclosed that the state was Polio free and this was due partly to the response and cooperation of parents to sensitization and immunization programmes.
She explained that the immunization exercise is divided into two phases.
The first being the administration of oral droplets where volunteers would be going from house to house and giving of injections which would be carried out at the government healthcare centres.
In the same vein, the State Commissioner for Health; Dr. (Mrs.) Temitope Ilori also learnt support to the words of the Deputy-Governor that the 4-day oral polio immunization exercise would be carried out in two phases.
She explained that the injection would be administered in the hospital.
The Health Commissioner advised mothers to make their children available both at home and at the government healthcare centres. Although the state was free from Polio but charged that immunization for children under the age of 5 years cannot be considered as too much.
She further explained that there are possibility of contraction of the disease due to interstate travels as the disease was more prevalent in the Northern part of the country and also it is highly contagious.
She disclosed that areas marked out for the exercise included schools, places of religious worship and house to house.
Highlight of the event was the drama staged by a drama group to sensitize the general public on the need for them to conscious and to give maximum support to the government in its bid to kick polio out of the state.
 BIOREPORTS