Enlisting Faith Based Organisations In Immunisation

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ccording to the Bible
book of Job, chapter 14 verse 1: “Man born of woman  are of few days full of trouble.”

The trouble bedeviling man include the outbreak of diseases inter alia.

To address the scourge of diseases, God in His infinite wisdom reveals unto man knowledge to heal and treat diseases afflicting mankind.

Immunisation, no doubt remains strategic in efforts to prevent deadly diseases worldwide.

The process of immunisation involves fortifying the immunity of an individual or animal by the administration of a vaccine or inoculation to enable the body resist an infectious disease.

Scientifically, immunisation is a tested tool for controlling and eliminating deadly but preventable diseases and in turn avert millions of deaths.

A statistics available by World Health, Organisation says a successful immunisation can avert two to three million deaths each year.

Experience has shown that immunization can prevent or ameliorate morbidity from infection.

Some diseases that could be immunized against include but not limited to tuberculosis (tb), measles, poliomyelitis, yellow-fever, ditheria and pertusis.

Poliomyelitis, for instance, is a viral childhood disease that attacks the central nervous system resulting in paralysis particularly of the limbs.

Tuberculosis, on the other hand, attacks the lungs in pulmunic case and could spread to other organs resulting in death of patients if not checked at early stage.

In fact, according to World Health Organisation, immunisation schedule in Nigeria, an untreated (tb) patient can infect and average between ten to fifteen people per year.

Perlusis and diphteria are various forms of cough that could result in death as well as measles and yellow fever diseases among others.

To ensure a healthier nation, the Federal Government of Nigeria undertakes a free periodic immunisation exercise nationwide to prevent these deadly diseases.

Poliomyelitis, measles and tuberculosis (tb) enjoys not only national but worldwide attention and coverage of sensitisation and awareness efforts by critical stakeholders such as World Health Organisation and Global Fund etc.

It is worthy of note that the federal government also undertakes tuberculosis and leprosy control programme free of charge nationwide.

In Rivers State in particular, there is a free medical scheme for all citizens registered under the scheme.

Despite the laudable efforts of federal and state governments, it has been reported that some faith-based organisations resist immunisation of children

and wards of their members.

Addressing the 11th Rivers State Council of Health Meeting in May, 2013 in Port Harcourt, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Sampson Parker expressed concern over the resistance to immunisation exercise by some faith-based organisation; threatening to direct the Public Health Unit of his Ministry to make public affected faith-based organisations for prosecution.

Providing an insight to the challenge in an interview Dr Claribel Abam, Executive Secretary, Rivers State Primary Healthcare Management Board  explained that those who resisted immunisation exercise recently attributed their claim to the sentiment that their children were already protected by the

blood of Jesus Christ and therefore there was no need immunising children who have already been saved and protected by God.

The observation and claim of the Ministry of Health was not without swift reaction by some religious leaders in Rivers State.

The Secretary of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), an affiliate of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Bethel Jaja expressed doubt on the claim, saying that the body has not received any official complaint by relevant government agency.

In his reaction also in an interview, Alhaji Nasiru Owhelebe Uhor, Rivers State Islamic Leader said Muslims do not oppose to immunisation, rather they announce every immunisation exercise in Mosques and urge members to make their children and wards available for the exercise, pointing out that immunisation is beneficial to the families as it prevents disease.

Interestingly, immunisation is not limited to human beings alone. Animals such as livestock and pet animals are immunised to prevent the spread of diseases such as rabies, parvo virus and para influenza particularly in dogs as well as bovine tuberculosis in cow, pests de petit ruminant in sheep and goat among others.

Unfortunately, resistance to immunisation in Nigeria is not new.

For instance, in the 1980s during the reign of Retired General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, there was the policy of four children per family.

To this end, immunisation was largely erroneously perceived as a mean of controlling birth by the federal government and was therefore resisted and avoided by many families.

Worse still, during the worst outbreak of meningitis in Kano in 1996 and parts of the North, Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company tried some drugs namely – trovan and cefrinaxone on two hundred children which resulted in the death of eleven children in all.

A breakdown of the eleven death showed that five died while on trovan and six on cefrinaxone in Kano resulting in legal tussle between parents versus Pfizer.

In addition, the writings of some famous medical doctors on the subject of immunisation have not helped matters.

For instance, the author of the best seller “Medical Mafia”, Guylaine Lanctot once wrote. The medical authorities keep lying. Vaccination has been a disaster on the immune system.

Dr. Lanctot continues thus: “It actually causes a lot of illnesses. We are changing our genetic code through vaccination”.

Be that as it may, immunisation is a recognised medical process of controlling and eliminating deadly but preventable diseases across the world.

To check resistance to immunisation by faith-based organisation in Rivers State in particular, the Ministry of Health- must make public affected faith-based organisations and take another step further to prosecute them to serve as a deterrence to others. This has become expedient as investigation reveals that two churches are guilty of this so far.

Furthermore, the National Orientation Agency in collaboration with the Ministry of Health should intensify awareness on the benefits of immunisation since the federal government carries out free immunisation champion nationwide.

Encouraging too, is the fact that Rivers State Government operates a free medical scheme throughout the state and therefore no family can attribute resistance and opposition to immunisation to financial cost.

The Nigeria Veterinary Medica! Association in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture on their part should also carry out national immunisation exercise for livestock and pet animals since man does not live in isolation.

This is necessary as some diseases are transmissible from animal to man and vice-vasa.

Baridon Sika is of Radio Rivers FM, PH.

Baridorn Sika