An official of the UNICEF office in Taraba state, Mr. Shimbura Bongkiya has said that about over seventy thousand children have been immunized against rota virus, tetanus, and other child killer diseases within the first three days of the ongoing vaccination campaign in Bali local government area.
Shimbura disclosed this during a review meeting with the Director of Primary Health Care, Bali LGA, Mr. Clement Sabo along with other PHC officials, UNICEF, WHO, and the Media, after the supervision of various vaccination posts across the council area.
He said a total of 111,600 doses were given to children with various diseases while the exercise continues.
He described the campaign as commendable, adding that the ongoing data enrollment exercise is also recording success.
Mr. Bongkiya advised the Wards and Focal Persons while giving their daily reports to always know their vaccine balance to enable them to have foresight on the next line of action.
At the time the media team visited Asinai community of Abujan Bali in Maihula Ward at about 9 am on Monday, about twenty five women were vaccinated for TD, sixteen children for routine immunization, while sixty persons received Covid-19 vaccine.
Also at the primary health centre Maihula, the team met lots of women with their children in the queue waiting to receive the vaccines.
Some of them including Jessica Titus Aisha Sadiq , Jennifer Emmanuel as well as Harira Adamu all commended the exercise.
A Community Health Worker at the PHCC Maihula, Mr. Caleb Jauro told the media team that at the time of the visit, they have vaccinated about 1,200 persons with TD within three days with many clients waiting in the queue as their target per day was four hundred and six.
Jauro who revealed that they are well equipped with the vaccines and the manpower as well, identified lack of water as the only challenge at the facility.
While at the Sancta Maria Clinic, a private facility in Bali town, the PHC official queried the vaccine administrator for keeping the vaccine in an exposed condition and advised him to always return them to the cool-chain when there are no clients to avoid wasting them or giving expired vaccines to the people.
The media team alongside the PHC official persuaded some patients at the clinic before they accepted the vaccines.
Earlier in an interview, the village heads of Abujan Bali and that of Asinai, Jibril Julde, and Tanko Bako respectively all appreciated the gesture by the Taraba State Primary Health Care Development Agency and its partners for their consistent intervention.
According to them, as a result of consistent routine immunization, cases of meningitis and measles have been reduced drastically in their communities.
Tanko Bako appealed to the Bali LGA to provide them with a dispensary in the Asinai community to reduce their suffering, saying that it is an hour’s journey before they access the nearest PHC facility at Sabon Dali and they lack good access roads.
In his remarks, the leader of the Media team, Alhaji Sadiq Adamu observed that in all the vaccination posts visited by the team, the exercise was commendable and advised the PHC officials in the LGA to be vigilant and ensure close monitoring of their workers for a hitch-free exercise.
Meanwhile, the monitoring exercise by the Media team continues as about 42 outreach teams are currently carrying out the exercise in Bali LGA of the state.
Sani Sulaiman
