No fewer than 922,463 residents in Enugu State will be vaccinated in the ongoing massive yellow fever vaccination in three local government council areas, where there is confirmed yellow fever outbreak.
The  Executive Secretary of  Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency (ENS-PHCDA), Dr George Ugwu, disclosed this to newsmen in Enugu on Thursday.
Ugwu listed the council areas to include Igboeze North 333,551 residents, Nsukka 398,094 residents,  and Isi-Uzo 190,818 residents, adding that the numbers mentioned in each council area represented 85 per cent of the entire population.
According to him, the state government has gotten enough stock of the yellow fever vaccines for the ongoing vaccination as well as fully trained and mobilised the vaccinators to fixed Primary Health Centres (PHCs), special outreach centres and house-to-house approach.
He further said that the massive vaccination was meant for people between the ages of nine months and 44 years; adding that everyone within this mentioned age range is expected to receive the vaccination in the three council areas.
The executive secretary went on to say that after the ongoing massive vaccination in the affected council areas; there would be escalation of mass vaccination to about 10 neighbouring council areas, before the entire state yellow fever vaccination would arrive.
His words, “There is no need to panic or send the wrong information, the government is in control of the yellow fever outbreak clinically and has taken right and appropriate steps to see that our people are protected.
“Already, the Agency has continued to engage in robust community mobilisation, sensitisation, health education and promotion.
“We have adequate supplies of yellow fever vaccines and accessories to all health facilities and outreach centres as well as properly trained, oriented and deployed all cadres of health workers and teams.
“We are also doing mass reactive vaccination for eligible and most susceptible persons aged nine months to 44 years as well as monitoring the outbreak response activities in the council areas” he said.
He, therefore assured that the state government had fully mobilised and had continued with fumigation of Ette community and its environs as well as all other communities directly affected in the outbreak.
Ugwu, however, appreciated Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for his personal concern and timely intervention, which had led to the control and robust capacity to tackle the dreaded yellow fever outbreak.
Continuing, Ugwu added, “We also thank the Deputy Governor, Mrs Cecilia Ezeilo, for support and supervisory guidance to issues that concern the health of the rural people and residents of Enugu state in general.
He noted that the Wife of the Governor, Mrs Monica Ugwuanyi, had greatly assisted in providing medical consumables, drugs as well as health awareness and education programmes to the rural people.
“I quite appreciate the technical and other support of the state Ministry of Health; Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), NCDC, UNICEF, WHO, among others.
Going forward, the executive secretary called for technical, material and financial assistance from relevant institutions  such as national and international agencies and partners, adding; “Government cannot do it alone’’.
“We are also requesting for more funding and support for effective containment of the outbreak as well as request and receipt of more yellow fever vaccines for our expanded programme from the NPHCDA’’.

By: Canice Amadi, Enugu