Rubella, Measles Vaccination: Kwara First Lady Sensitizes LG Chairmen’s Spouses

The chairperson of the Nigeria’s Governors’ Spouses Forum and wife of Kwara State governor, Amb. Olufolake Abdulrazaq, on Tuesday held a sensitization programme for the spouses of the local government chairmen in the state on the introduction of measles and rubella vaccines.

At the event held at the Government Banquet hall, Ilorin, the state capital, Mrs Abdulrazaq appealed to stakeholders to drive the sensitization campaign on measles and rubella vaccine in communities to ensure 95 per cent coverage is achieved.

She encouraged wives and mothers to present their children between the ages of nine months and 15 years for vaccination, saying that it is better to treat measles rubella before fatal consequences.

The wife of the governor, who said that the meeting was aimed at equipping councils chairmen’s wives as the closest wrung to the grassroots, added that there is need to keep people in communities abreast of the need to present their children and wards for the vaccine when it is rolled out in October.

She commended the partnership between the Centre for Well-Being and Integrated Nutrition Solutions (C-WINS) and the Nigeria Governors Spouses Forum for initiating the sensitization exercise, saying that,” the campaign aimed to ensure that the vaccine, when rolled out, will get to the most remote of our communities.”

“Rubella, often mistaken for a mild childhood rash-like illness and frequently overshadowed by measles, carries severe health consequences when contracted by pregnant women. Approximately, one in every 10 cases seen as measles is, in fact, Rubella.

“Research has also established that maternal rubella infection during the first trimester leads to Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS), which manifests in newborns as cataracts, heart defects, hearing impairments, and mental disabilities.

“While Rubella infections during pregnancy continue to pose a serious but preventable threat to the health of newborns across Nigeria, it is expedient however, that practicable measures be taken to eliminate the diseases, hence, the need for engagements such as this to equip you as wives of local government chairmen with necessary information on the measles and rubella vaccine to disseminate among the people at the grassroots as well as dispel unfounded claims before the roll out scheduled for the fourth quarter of the year 2025”.

“It may interest you to know that in 2023 alone, global measles cases surged by 20 per cent, reaching 10.3 million, with Africa enduring most of the crisis, World Health Organization data also reveals that only 83 percent of children worldwide received their first dose of the measles vaccine, while just 74 percent got their second dose—far below the 95 percent national coverage needed to prevent outbreaks,” she said.

Earlier, the executive secretary, Kwara state Primary Health Care Development Agency, Prof. Nusirat Elelu, had called on wives of local government chairmen to help in the vaccination campaign.

The wife of Baruten local government area, Hajia Zainab Abubakar, pledged on behalf of other spouses of local government chairmen to take the campaign to all parts of the 16 local government areas of the state.

In his remarks, the Emir of Shonga, Dr. Haliru Yahaya, pledged the support of the traditional institution for the vaccination exercise.