The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the National Orientation
Agency (NOA), urged Imo women to ensure their children are fully immunised and officially registered at birth.
The NOA Director in Imo, Mrs Stellamaris Demian-Igwe, made the call during the Owerri Nchiise August meeting in Owerri on Wednesday.
She said that ensuring children received vaccinations on schedule not only protect the younger ones but ensures safety and healthy life.
She added that timely vaccination eliminates or reduces dangerous diseases that spread among children and urged women to take advantage
of the free birth registration so they could collect birth certificates from the National Population Commission (NPC).
Earlier, Mr Vitus Ekeocha, the Lead Resource Person of UNICEF’s Social Behaviour Change programme, had told the News Agency of Nigeria
(NAN) in an interview that the sensitisation is to increase the uptake of vaccines among children.
He told NAN that UNICEF has empowered facilitators, including health workers and information officers at the state and local government levels
and deployed them to spread awareness in 270 communities in the state.
He explained that the measure would help to raise awareness about the importance of vaccine in disease prevention and protection.
Ekeocha said that the major focus is on the Penta 3 vaccine which protects children against five killer diseases, namely: Tetanus, Diphtheria,
Whooping Cough, Hepatitis B and Influenza.
He added that the facilitators would also educate mothers on the need to register the birth of every child with NPC before they turn 18.
He said timely registration of births will ensure that the children have access to education, healthcare and other essential services.
He explained that UNICEF had also contributed to the sensitisation by printing the birth certificates free of charge for the NPC.(NAN)
