By Bayo Muhammad Alabira
Jigawa state government in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health on Thursday kicked off cholera vaccination campaign in Dutse.
In the ongoing exercise, no fewer than 720,000 residents are expected to be vaccinated.
Speaking to SINL Nigeria Online, the Executive Secretary, Jigawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (JSPHCDA), Dr Kabiru Ibrahim said the state has received about N1.4 million doses of the vaccines from the Federal Ministry of Health for smooth conduct of the exercise.
He explained that the vaccines would be administered to 720,000 target population in three high burden Local government Areas of Birninkudu, Dutse and Hadejia.
The Executive Secretary stressed that the vaccines would be administered on people from the age of one and above, saying that it would be administered in two doses of four weeks after the first dose.
“Today marks the beginning of administration of oral vaccines for cholera. We have received about 1.4 million doses of the vaccines from the federal ministry of health, through WHO”.
“And the target population is from the age of one to whatever age are eligible for the vaccination. And the target areas are the three high burden LGAs of Birninkudu, Dutse and Hadejia,” he emphasised.
Dr Ibrahim further stated that the exercise was flagged off in the presence of Emir of Dutse, Dr Nuhu Muhammad Sanusi, development partners, representative of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, among other stakeholders.
He added that the gesture was to curtail the menace in the state, particularly, in the three high burden LGAs. “You would recall that in the last four months, we (Jigawa) have recorded over 20,000 cases with about 500 deaths. So the vaccine is going to put a stop to the menace”.
He called on residents to continue with the traditional protocols of infection control and prevention.
“These include washing of hands before and after visiting the toilet, ensuring that foods we eat are washed, keept in a clean environment, consuming safe drinking water, among other protocols”, he said.
The executive secretary further advised residents to decontaminate drinking water, where its source is suspected to be contaminated. “We taught communities how to decontaminate water sources such as wells and reservoirs, especially in the high burden LGAs”.
He said, to prove to the residents that the vaccine is safe, the Emir of Dutse, representative of WHO, the state’s Immunisation Officer, among others, took the vaccine in the presence of public.
“People have tasted the consequences of cholera and those who have died of it will not come back to tell the story. But people who have suffered its consequences will tell the story”, he stated.
He therefore urged residents of the state to ensure that they were vaccinated against the deadly disease. “This is because cholera is real and the vaccine is safe and effective. So people should come out en masse to ensure that they are not left behind”.
The executive secretary further pointed out that the state had to convince the Federal Government before accessing the vaccines.
“Cholera vaccine is not something you can easily reach out to quickly. We passed through so may protocols before convincing the national government that we deserve these vaccines.
“There were more than 20 states that suffered from cholera outbreak in the last six months. But I think Jigawa is the second state to have access to these vaccines, Bauchi state was the first state to have it.
“And it is because the national program has sincerely believed that we have the technical know how and we are determined and committed to the use of these vaccines”, he said.
“And that is the reason why our request was granted. Many states’ requests were turned down because they did not meet the minor and major criteria put in place before accessing these vaccines,” the executive secretary said.
According to him, to ensure residents have access to the vaccines, substantial number of trained personnel were deployed to administer the vaccines at designated health facilities in the three most hit LGAs
