WHO Rates Enugu State for Polio Immunization Campaign – Survey

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has rated Enugu State high for its overwhelming satisfactory polio immunization campaign just-concluded in the state.

The high rating and commendation were contained in a preliminary WHO Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) Survey on the polio immunization campaign carried out in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area (LGA) in August 2020; released in Enugu on Sunday.

It would be recalled that the state government through Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency (ENS-PHCDA) and health partners embarked on an Oral Polio Vaccination (OPV) and Fractional Inactivated Polio Vaccine (FIPV) immunization campaign to sustain the state’s polio-free status.

The exercise was targeted at vaccinating 35,775 children from three months to five years within the 16 wards in Uzo-Uwani council area between Aug. 22 and Aug. 27.

The survey said it was observed that; “Uzo-Uwani LGA polio immunization was accepted as with LQAS coverage of > 90% (more than 90 percent).

“The six selected settlements in the council area used for the survey had 100% (100 percent) coverage and had no missed children for both FIPV and OPV.

“Although, all sampled children were finger marked, more than a third had no Routine Immunization Card and a quarter had no FIPV Card.

“All the 60 children seen in the six settlements in the council area were vaccinated in the last IPDs. All 60 caregivers of the sampled children were aware of the campaign as well,’’ it said.

The survey, however, suggested that there should be continued data-driven Evening Review Meetings (using call-in data template and ODK based supervision data) in future campaigns.

It stressed the need to sustain the current rate of social mobilization for all immunization especially Immunisation Plus Days (IPDs) in the state.

National Immunization Plus Days in Anambra

“Strengthen card retention during future team training and social mobilization activities as well as to conduct a post-implementation review of the FIPV campaign at the state and LGA levels,’’ the survey said.

Reacting to the positive result, Executive Secretary of ENS-PHCDA, Dr. George Ugwu, said that the independent positive assessment of the just-concluded immunization shows renewed zeal of the state government and its partners to use immunization to reduce the disease burden of the state.

“I sincerely thank our children-friendly Governor, Chief Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, for the tremendous support to ENS-PHCDA and its programs especially immunization as well as our partners theNational Primary Health Care Development Agency, WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International among others.

“The Agency will fully sustain areas we have done exceptionally well in the just-concluded polio immunization; and we will put more efforts and resources to do better in areas we needed improvement,’’ he added.