Immunization: NIPDs Achieves 90% Target In Rivers

The National Immunisation Plus Days (NIPDs) has achieved about 90 per cent of its targeted 1.7 million in 2019 in Rivers State.
Making this known in an exclusive interview, the state Immunisation Officer, Rivers State Primary Health Care Management Board, Dr Inwon Joseph Urang, said a total of 1,609,440 children were immunised in the 23 Local government areas of the state at the end of the exercise, recently.
According to a source from the board, in the details of number of children immunised in all the 23 Local Government Areas, Obio/Akpor recorded the highest with 195,649 children being immunized.
This was followed by Port Harcourt local government, area, which recorded 180,737 immunisations, while Abua/Odual recorded 88,842,Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni (86,804) and Ahoada West had 77,800 immunisations.
Others are: Gokana (68,021); Andoni (64,254); Khana (89,511); Asari-Toru (63,969); Degema (66,874); Etche (75,899); and Okrika (59,462).
Explaining the importance of immunisation, Dr Urang stated: “it prevents illness, disability and death from vaccines preventable diseases”.
These diseases, he said, include Tuberclosis (TB), Diphtheria, Hypertitis B, Haemophilus Influenza, Measles, Pertussis (whooping cough), Pneumonia, Polio, rotavirus, diarrhea and Tetanus.
He continued that an additional 1.5 million deaths could be avoided, if global immunisation coverage improves.

Sogbeba Dokubo