By Fatima Mohammed-Lawal
The Kwara Government in partnership with UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged spiritual leaders to counter myths and misconceptions about vaccination and promote maternal and little one well being.
The name was made on Friday in Ilorin at a one-day orientation programme for spiritual leaders on selling optimistic norms by the “Faith-for-Life” strategy.
Speaking on the programme, Prof. Nusirat Elelu, Executive Secretary, Kwara State Primary Health Care Development Agency mentioned conventional and non secular leaders commanded belief and respect of their communities making them necessary companions in selling healthcare.
Elelu mentioned their involvement was essential to decreasing maternal and toddler mortality, significantly in communities the place cultural beliefs and misinformation discouraged households from looking for important healthcare.
She mentioned some beliefs that discouraged blood transfusions and caesarean sections might contribute to preventable maternal deaths.
She urged spiritual leaders to amass correct well being data to assist dispel misconceptions and encourage communities to embrace important well being companies.
“We need people like you to strengthen health advocacy in our communities. You occupy positions of trust and are voices of authority as imams and pastors.
“We need your support in addressing the challenges of maternal, newborn and infant mortality, immunisation, hygiene and sanitation, and child protection,” she mentioned.
According to Elelu, defending the well being and survival of ladies and youngsters is a collective duty.
She referred to as for applicable antenatal care, measures to scale back stillbirths, unique breastfeeding for the primary six months of life and routine immunisation.
The government secretary expressed concern that misinformation, misconceptions and cultural boundaries continues to delay health-seeking behaviour and stop households from accessing important healthcare companies.
Also talking, Mr Ibrahim Tsado, Social and Behaviour Change Specialist on the UNICEF Kaduna Field Office, urged spiritual leaders to take an lively function in dispelling vaccine myths and selling confidence in immunisation.
Tsado mentioned vaccines had been topic to stringent regulatory processes and security assessments earlier than approval to be used.
He urged spiritual leaders to make use of their affect to advertise correct well being data and encourage dad and mom to make sure their kids acquired routine immunisation.
Similarly, Dr Eyitayo Emmanuel, WHO State Coordinator, reaffirmed the significance of vaccine security, noting that related authorities topic all vaccines to rigorous analysis earlier than approval.
In her remarks, Dr Gloria Enueze, UNFPA State Coordinator, urged dad and mom to make sure their kids acquired routine immunisation.
Enueze additionally inspired pregnant girls to take advisable vaccines to guard themselves and their unborn infants.
The Director of Primary Health Care Systems, Dr Michael Oguntoye, defined that vaccines move by a number of phases of testing and regulatory scrutiny, together with NAFDAC evaluation.
Oguntoye dismissed claims that vaccines had been getting used to scale back Nigeria’s inhabitants, describing allegations that immunisation programmes had been designed for inhabitants management as unfounded.
He defined that donor funding for vaccine programmes doesn’t indicate that donors independently manufacture the vaccines.
He added that vaccines utilized in Nigeria had been additionally utilized in different nations, together with the United States and the United Kingdom.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reviews that members on the programme included members of the Women Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (WOWICAN) and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
Others had been the Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN) and the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI).(NAN)
Edited by Abujah Racheal and Yetunde Fatungase
