First Lady flags off Africa’s largest vaccination drive

—-Declares ‘No More’ to diseases threatening children’s future

—Sultan rallies govs to champion campaign

—Gavi pledges $103m arsenic Nigeria targets 16m children

—Gates Foundation reaffirms support, urges closing zero-dose gap

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA — THE First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, connected Monday successful Abuja, launched Africa’s largest integrated immunization campaign, signaling a decisive measurement towards ending vaccine-preventable diseases threatening millions of children.

The President woman astatine the launch, flagged disconnected the National Measles-Rubella Vaccine Introduction Integrated Campaign, describing it arsenic “a bold measurement towards protecting the lives and aboriginal of our children.”

Mrs. Tinubu highlighted the devastating consequences of measles, including blindness, disablement and death, and warned that rubella, though often silent, tin origin terrible commencement defects if contracted during pregnancy.

She said: “We are present contiguous (Monday) to emblem disconnected a solution, a pathway to hope, and a committedness of progress. With this vaccine, our children volition beryllium protected against 2 deadly diseases and bask a beingness of information and protection.”

Senator Oluremi Tinubu urged parents, assemblage leaders, and spiritual and accepted rulers to enactment unneurotic to guarantee nary kid is near unvaccinated.

She explained: “These vaccines are safe, effectual and free. They are 1 of the top gifts of modern medicine. They prevention lives, forestall disease, and springiness our children the accidental to grow, larn and thrive.”

The President woman pledged sustained advocacy done authorities First Ladies, women’s groups, and assemblage leaders.

The First Lady commended the Ministry of Health nether Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), and improvement partners, including WHO, UNICEF, Gavi and the Gates Foundation, for their support.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate said President Tinubu is utilizing wellness arsenic an instrumentality to unify and animate the country.

He besides commended the First Lady for her untiring and steadfastness towards attending to the wellness needs of Nigerians crossed the country.

Also speaking the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Olatunji Alausa, described the thrust arsenic some a wellness and acquisition investment.

Represented by Deputy Director Peter Ojonuba, helium said: “A steadfast kid is simply a teachable child.”

He pledged that schools would beryllium mobilized arsenic hubs for vaccine consciousness and delivery, informing administrators against obstructing vaccinators.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, rallied authorities governors and First Ladies to thrust the run astatine the grassroots.

Recalling Nigeria’s polio eradication success, helium said: “When we defeated polio, it wasn’t by coercion. It was by convincing radical to bash the close thing.”

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, described the run arsenic the largest integrated immunization inaugural successful Africa, pledging $103 cardinal successful support.

Tarcile Mballa, Gavi’s Senior Programme Manager for Nigeria, hailed it arsenic “a historical milestone and a objection of Nigeria’s enactment successful nationalist health,” noting the alliance’s concern of implicit $2.6 cardinal successful Nigeria’s immunization efforts implicit 2 decades.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation reaffirmed its committedness to Nigeria’s vaccination goals.

The Deputy Director for Immunization and Disease Control, Yusuf Yusufari, commended Nigeria’s resilience, citing the emergence successful regular immunization sum from 33% successful 2016 to implicit 60% contiguous and the country’s 2020 chaotic poliovirus-free certification.

He, however, warned that implicit 2 cardinal Nigerian children stay “zero-dose”, wholly unvaccinated, the second-highest fig globally, fuelling measles outbreaks and circulating variant poliovirus benignant 2.

He urged urgent enactment to adjacent this spread done innovation and assemblage outreach.

The 2025 run targets 16 cardinal children aged 0-14 crossed the 36 states and the FCT.

In 21 states, children volition person some measles-rubella and polio vaccines successful a azygous visit, portion 4 states volition besides payment from mosquito nets, deworming tablets, and t...