...No community will be left out – ES BSPHCB assures

By Peter Duru, Makurdi

Benue State has launched a statewide integrated vaccination campaign targeting over two million children aged 9–59 months, as part of the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCHW) and the December round of the Supplementary Immunisation Plus Days (SIPDs).

The Executive Secretary of the Benue State Primary Health Care Board (BSPHCB), Mrs. Grace Wende, disclosed this during a stakeholders’ engagement and sensitisation meeting in Makurdi, noting that the exercise was being carried out in collaboration with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and development partners.

Represented by the State Health Educator, SHE, Dr. Philip Toryue, Mrs. Wende explained that the week-long exercise, “which commenced on Saturday, December 6, will run until December 10, 2025, while mop-up activities will take place from December 11 to 12, 2025.”

According to her, the campaign combines multiple interventions to ensure holistic child and maternal health. “We are integrating the Supplementary Immunisation Plus Days with the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week. This means children will receive polio vaccines, other routine antigens, Vitamin A supplementation, and deworming, while pregnant and breastfeeding women will get Multiple Micronutrient Supplements, MMS.”

She emphasized the scale and reach of the operation, noting that various specialised teams had already been deployed across the state. “We have house-to-house teams, mobile teams, special teams for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), and those assigned to hard-to-reach and security-compromised areas.”

She said in addition, fixed-post teams would operate from all 276 Primary Healthcare Centres, PHCs, in the state.

Mrs. Wende assured that the state had put adequate logistics and security measures in place to ensure comprehensive coverage.
“So I can assure you that no community will be left out in the exercise,” she declared.

She urged parents and caregivers to present their children for vaccination, stressing that all the services were free of charge.

Also speaking, the State Focal Person of the Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development, Abraham Iusa, said the organisation was partnering with traditional rulers to enhance community acceptance.

“We are working closely with our traditional institutions to ensure there is no rejection. The goal is to make sure every targeted child receives the vaccines.”