Child Health Week Successful In Rivers

The Child Health Week campaign which started in Rivers State last Tuesday and ended yesterday across the state recorded a huge success in various local government areas of the state.

The campaign which featured immunization of children between 0-5 years and administration of vitamin A supplements to the children was organized by the State Ministry of Health in conjunction with donor agencies like the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organisation (WHO).

A team of journalists who monitored the event in various local government areas of the state reported that the turn out for the event was impressive.

In Port Harcourt Local Government Area, the newly constructed church hill health centre actually stood out during the exercise, as over 250 children were immunised for five days the exercise lasted.

Everything was seen to be functionally in place as the matron in charge of the health centre, Mrs Erewari Owhonda disclosed that the centre got full stock and supply of vaccines and vitamin A supplements which were used for the exercise.

According to her, apart from mothers bringing their children to the health centre to be immunized, the health centre equally embarked on outreach programmes in several communities within the Borikiri axis of the city to cater for the health needs of children.

Mrs Owhonda, however, appealed to the state government to post more qualified medical personnel to the healthy centre for more effective services as it was currently suffering from acute shortage of manpower.

She thanked UNICEF in particular for it assistance and support especially in the area of supply of vitamin A supplements which she said had been boosting the immunity of children against killer diseases.

At the Rumuoji newly built health centre along Okija Street in Port Harcourt, the chief Nursing Officer at the health centre, Mrs Roseline Deze admitted that the supply of vitamin A supplements was enough to go round the children within the Emenike Street axis of Port Harcourt.

According to her, the immunization of children had started lat Monday even as she described it as a continuous exercise.

Donatus Ebi