Asaba, – The wife of Delta Governor, Dame Edith Okowa, has urged mothers to visit healthcare centres for routine immunisation and other health services to reduce diseases among children.
Okowa made the call on Thursday at the launch of the second phase of the 2016 National Immunisation Plus Days at Agbogidi Primary School in Akwukwu-Igbo in Oshimili North Local Government Area.
[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
She noted that visiting healthcare centres in their localities would go a long way in reducing the burden of diseases in the society.
“Polio which in most cases affects children is an infectious viral disease that causes deformity, paralyses and sometimes could lead to death of the affected persons.
“The objective of immunisation is to ensure that children under the ages of five and pregnant women receive the appropriate vaccines.
“Although Delta has been declared a polio-free state since 2011, the present administration through its “SMART’’ agenda remained committed to the wellbeing of the people by ensuring that childhood diseases and infant mortality were reduced to their barest minimum,’’ she said.
In his remarks, the state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr Nicholas Azinge, said that Delta was among the few states in the country that had signed the Contributory Health Commission Bill into law.
Also, the representative of the World Health Organisation, Mr Enya Bassey, said that polio had declined in the country in the past 10 years.
Bassey said that the National Immunisation Plus Days in the state was specifically targeted at the final push for the eradication of polio and achieving polio-free certification in 2017. (NAN)
