The Permanent Secretary, Ekiti State Ministry of Information, Prince Olusesan Alabi has charged all Social Behavioural Committee members in the State to be agents of disseminating messages on the values and benefits of taking our children for immunisation in order to protect them from childhood diseases which may lead to untimely death.
Speaking at A- One- Day Social and Behavioural Change (SBC) meeting held recently at the conference hall, ministry of Education in Ado Ekiti, the Permanent Secretary who represented the Commissioner for Information, Chief Taiwo Olatunbosun posited that children’s right to good health is very important because it helps in shaping the future, empowers and promotes healthy generations.
He however stated further that, entrenched socio cultural barriers and misinformation stand as hindrances to full realisation of this rights. The event which was packaged by the State Ministry of Information in collaboration with UNICEF was designed to champion the course of children in Ekiti State and Nigeria at large.
Prince Alabi acknowledged the efforts of the present administration under the leadership of His Excellency, Mr Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, the Executive Governor of Ekiti State as outstanding as he is committed to the well being and overall development of Ekiti State as well as leaving no stone unturned towards improving the welfare of the children.
While thanking UNICEF for always being there for Nigerians in ensuring that people especially our children are safe and live a healthy life, he also noted that Social and Behavioural Change is a powerful strategy to address these challenges by influencing individual behaviours, shifting social norms and creating an enabling environment for positive change.
He therefore charged all participants to be actively involved and contribute meaningfully to the programme so that the knowledge acquired could be useful in changing people’s behaviours towards improving the welfare of children and the entire populace.
The State Health Educator for Ekiti State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. (Mrs) Olajumoke Oguntoye, who represented the South West UNICEF specialist, Mrs Aderonke Akinola Adewole called on the stakeholders to educate and talk to their people in their various communities for them to have positive ideas about immunization and allow their children to be vaccinated whenever the need arises and also patronise the health facilities in the State. She Added that they rely on the stakeholders in the state who she said are key in getting this achieved.
The Assistant State Immunization Programme Officer for Ekiti State, Mrs. Olorode Toyin Felicia, who represented the State Immunization Officer, Mrs. Ogundola Omolabake, identified rumour as one of the factors militating against the acceptance of Immunization in the State, urging people to know that immunization protects the children’s lives.
Giving an insight into her personal experience while carrying out immunization against cervical cancer sometime in the past, she pointed out that people were just peddling rumour about, that the vaccine was to prevent girl-child from giving birth in future which wasn’t real. She affirmed that the vaccine is very important to life of a girl-child as they need to be protected against the cancer considering the rates of its occurrences in Nigeria.
The Former State Educator, Ministry of Health, Ekiti State, now the Executive Director of Foundation for Justice and Social Development, Mrs. Lola Ologuntoye noted that there must be community involvement, participation, ownership and sustainability for the success of any programme which she said her NGO has been working towards by meeting with the community leaders, religious leaders and traditional rulers as well as schools to sensitiize them on all the issues relating to children. She therefore encouraged the public to bring their children out for immunisation saying it is very important to protect them against diseases.
Another stakeholder from Healthy Living and Social Development Foundation, Mrs. Olubunmi Awe, who described the engagement as an eye-opener going by the fact that everybody in attendance was duly educated about the importance of Immunization, community engagement and participation to prevent hesitancy so that the people in the communities would accept immunization without any rejection.
She enjoined the general public to look at the cost effective of immunization, She maintained that it is important to prevent a disease than to be treating the consequence. “If a child has polio, there’s no way you can revert the leg to normal. But if prevented, the child will be walking well”. She stated.
She therefore called on the general public to join hands with government and take advantage of the immunization reiterating that the vaccine is expensive if gets to the hospital.
The Quarterly Social and Behavioural Change meeting was well attended from all works of life in the State. Among those present were representatives from non governmental organisations, CSOs, Red Cross, iyalojas and iyalajes, religious leaders, media practitioners and other participants.
