The Abia State Primary Healthcare Development Agency said it would mop up children of 24 to 59 months who could not be vaccinated during the COVID-19 era.
The State Immunisation Officer, Mrs Chinwe Eke who made this known while speaking on the ‘Big Catch Up’ vaccination for children in the state, said the programme targets children who have not received immunisation from birth because of COVID-19.
According to her, over 111,000 children who missed routine vaccination in 2020 because of COVID-19 in Abia State have been targeted in the immunisation programme.
Eke identified six local government areas as the most affected to include, Abia South, with 29,448; Obingwa, with 18,670, Arochukwu, with 18,333; Ohafia, 17,382, Osisioma, 16,837 and Umunneochi, 10,339.
The Immunization Officer said 30 per cent of the number, has so far been captured in the past five days of the programme, and expressed the hope that the remaining 70 per cent would be captured in the next phase in January and February 2025.
She explained that the programme sponsored by UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO) was adversely affected by delay in payment of workers’ stipend which she attributed to bureaucratic bottleneck.
“when the workers are not paid on time it limits their drive and area of coverage but when they are paid promptly it helps to go far in the work,” Eke said.
