KWSG, UNICEF, WHO urge media to tackle vaccine resistance myths
…Kwara Govt to begin Measles-Rubella vaccination Oct 11
By Mahmood Olayinka Alaya
The Kwara State Government says it will commence an Integrated Polio and Measles-Rubella vaccination campaign from October 11 to 20, targeting children and young people aged nine months to 14 years across all 16 local government areas.
To guarantee smooth operations, the government is engaging security agencies to safeguard health workers, especially in areas facing insecurity.
Speaking during a Media Dialogue on Integrated Measles-Rubella Vaccine Introduction and Polio Campaign, the Executive Secretary of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Professor Nusirat Elelu, stressed that no community would be left out.
“ We are committed to mobilising military personnel, health officers, and logistics to areas witnessing insecurity. We need to protect the health of the people, too. It would be a double tragedy for them to face security challenges and also be denied immunisation,” she said.
Professor Elelu explained that discussions had already begun with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency and the military to devise strategies for delivering vaccines in high-risk areas.
She further noted that the campaign aligns with global targets for Measles-Rubella elimination by 2030, while also emphasizing the critical role of the media in public sensitization.
Represented by the Director of Primary Healthcare System, Dr. Michael Oguntoye, Elelu described the media as a vital tool to educate citizens, counter misinformation, and reduce vaccine hesitancy.
Ahead of the official flag-off, She said the agency had engaged traditional and religious leaders to mobilize their communities.
In his keynote address, UNICEF’s Social Behaviour Specialist, Mr. Ibrahim Mohammed, urged Nigeria to intensify efforts to end polio transmission by 2025 while embracing the Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccine.
He emphasized Nigeria’s achievement of being declared free of wild poliovirus in 2020 but cautioned that challenges remain, as the country still has one of the highest numbers of “zero-dose” children—those who have never received any vaccine.
“ Vaccine is only effective when it reaches every child. The media has a critical role to play,(but your voice can break down myths and misinformation, build trust in science, and make vaccination a community value,” Mohammed said.
The UNICEF official described the introduction of the MR vaccine, available free of charge to children aged 9 months to 14 years, as a historic step in protecting future generations from preventable diseases.
Also speaking, the State Immunisation Officer, Hajia Sarat Yunus, explained that measles remains a highly infectious viral disease that can cause severe complications such as pneumonia, encephalitis, and death, especially among children and immunocompromised individuals.
She added that rubella, commonly known as German measles, though mild in children and adults, can lead to Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) in unborn babies if pregnant women contract it.
“ Between 2019 and 2024, Nigeria recorded 94,305 confirmed measles cases and 719 deaths, with the North-East bearing the highest burden,” Yunus disclosed.
UNICEF’s Dr. Usman Danlami and WHO’s Emmanuel Eyitayo both underscored the role of the media in ensuring public awareness, urging journalists to counter vaccine myths and misinformation with facts.
The campaign, the two officials stressed, is part of a nationwide effort to keep Nigeria polio-free, reduce measles outbreaks, prevent rubella, and safeguard the health of every Nigerian child.
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