Favour Abalaka
The Lagos State Branch of the Nigerian Red Cross Society has commenced the training of officers and supervisors ahead of the forthcoming measles-rubella vaccination campaign in the state.
The Branch Secretary of the organisation, Olakunle Lasisi, said the exercise was part of the yearly efforts to create awareness about measles and rubella and to encourage parents to present their children for vaccination.
Speaking at the training held in Yaba last Friday, Lasisi said the campaign was designed to tackle ignorance and misconceptions about immunisation among some residents.
Speaking to PUNCH Metro, he said, “This event has been scheduled because it is a yearly programme. It is to create awareness that measles exists, that it is deadly, and that children have to be vaccinated to prevent it.
“A lot of people are ignorant about vaccination, and that is why we are having this orientation for our volunteers so they will know how to educate people on the measles-rubella campaign.”
PUNCH Metro learnt that the vaccination exercise would commence on January 27 and run for 10 days across the state.
Lasisi explained that the Red Cross would begin community sensitisation ahead of the exercise and also document households that show resistance.
He said, “Two days before the programme starts, the Red Cross will be on the ground to sensitise the people. Also, two days before the programme ends, data of people who showed resistance will be accounted for.”
On support from the state government and international partners, Lasisi told PUNCH Metro that the state had remained open to credible partnerships, adding that the Red Cross had a long-standing relationship with the government.
“One beautiful thing about the Lagos State Government is that they are very open to receiving partners, especially credible partners, and the Red Cross has been a long-term partner with Lagos State. This time around, we have new partners like the US CDC. They are supporting the Nigerian Red Cross in Lagos and Bayelsa.
“In 2018 and 2021, the outcome and feedback were about 99 percent positive. So we are all committed to doing even better this year,” he said.
He added that vaccination targets and technical planning are being handled by the state government, with the Red Cross providing support.
“That is a technical area for the state government. They provide the data of local governments and households, and we are working based on their directive,” Lasisi said.
On vaccine acceptance, he said residents of the state were already well-informed, adding that community structures would further strengthen the campaign.
“Luckily, Lagos is exposed. There is strong communication between the government and the residents, from local government chairmen to community leaders and CDAs. Because the Red Cross is community-based, it is easier for us to work together in communities and also with the government,” he added.
Also speaking, the Senior Project Officer of the Nigerian Red Cross, Ahmad Abdul-Majid, told PUNCH Metro that the organisation was training officers who would, in turn, train volunteers across the state.
“Today, we are training supervisors, divisional secretaries, data officers, local government health education officers, and immunisation officers. In total, 526 trainers will be deployed to their respective local governments,” he said.
Abdul-Majid explained that the officers were being prepared to train over 4,800 volunteers who would carry out house-to-house mobilisation across Lagos.
“They will engage caregivers of eligible children, explain the benefits of the vaccine, and address any concerns or misunderstandings they may have. The volunteers are equipped to pass the correct information in their respective communities,” he said.
Explaining the benefit of wide coverage, Abdul-Majid said once a large percentage of children are immunised, it also helps to protect others who may not be reached immediately.
“There is a concept we call herd immunity. When a significant number of people in the community are protected, the few who, for one reason or another, are not yet vaccinated are also protected,” he said.
He added that international partners were supporting the campaign across the state.
According to him, the American Red Cross is supporting six local governments with about 1,700 volunteers and 170 supervisors, while the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is supporting the remaining 14 local governments with over 3,000 volunteers.
He added that coordination mechanisms had been put in place to ensure that every household is visited and every eligible child is identified during the exercise.
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