Umuahia: The Abia State Government has announced a successful outcome of its Measles-Rubella vaccination campaign, achieving a 96 per cent coverage and surpassing the 95 per cent benchmark necessary for herd immunity against infectious diseases across the state. This significant achievement was disclosed by the Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, during a briefing on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting in Umuahia.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the campaign, which began on February 3, targeted children aged nine months to 14 years in various settings such as schools, health facilities, and other public institutions statewide. Kanu hailed the 96 per cent coverage of the target population as a major public health accomplishment. He noted that over 8,000 vaccination teams were deployed to ensure smooth execution, while officials are still compiling detailed data from the initiative.
Kanu emphasized that this achievement reflects the current administration’s dedication to enhancing healthcare delivery and making quality medical services more affordable and accessible for residents. Additionally, he announced the governor’s approval of a partnership between the State Ministry of Health and Quantus Medical Foundation, a healthcare consultancy based in the United States, aimed at bolstering service delivery standards.
The collaboration is set to focus on training health workers to adopt global best practices, improve patient experiences, and enhance overall efficiency in public health facilities across the state. Kanu also revealed plans to operationalize 53 fully equipped Primary Health Centres, increasing the total number of functional centres to about 117.
Furthermore, the Abia State Digital Health Pilot Project has commenced in select hospitals and primary health centres to enhance data management and healthcare service delivery. Commissioner for Health, Enoch Uche, noted that the training programme seeks to embed best practices across primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare facilities in the state.
Uche stated that the governor tasked the ministry with engaging healthcare culture-change experts to resolve service quality issues, communication gaps, and professional conduct concerns in healthcare facilities. The initiative aims to train doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other health workers in effective communication, empathy, and enhanced patient-care processes.
Highlighting the significance of the vaccination outcome, Uche explained that the 95 per cent benchmark is the minimum needed to achieve herd immunity, which provides indirect protection by reducing transmission chances when a large proportion of a population becomes immune. This initiative underscores the commitment to preventing sustained outbreaks of infectious diseases in the state.