From Segun Ayinde, Abeokuta
United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF) on Wednesday cautioned parents and guardians on the dangers of engaging auxiliary nurses or unregistered medical practitioners to treat their children after reacting to vaccinations.
The Social and Behaviour Change Specialist, UNICEF, Mrs. Aderonke Akinola-Akinwole, made this known at the Social and Behavioral Change Committee(SBCC) meeting at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Akinola-Akinwole, who warned parents and guardians of the health risk involved in engaging unregistered medical practitioners to treat their children, urged them to seek the vaccine facility for proper treatment of their wards for free.
She expressed confidence that the HPV+ vaccine was effective for the children, while calling on the parents, neighbours, community and religion centers, to allow their wards receive vaccinations to protect them against diseases.
Akinola-Akinwole said “Let me first reiterate that the HPV+ vaccine are safe and effective and like you said there could be but not in all cases that there is a reaction. But in case there is a reaction that parents are not comfortable with we want to encourage parents to go back to the facility in which that vaccine was given, the facility will treat them free of charge if there is any reaction that they are not comfortable with.
“However this is very rare and the vaccine are free and safe and effective, so they should just go back to the facility that they have been giving the vaccine, they should not try to seek help themselves they should go to the facility and those children will be treated free of charge.”
“They should not seek help that is not within the medical center, accessing of seeking medical help that is not within the medical facility endangers the life of anybody so it it is important that they should go back to that facility that they had been given injection or look at the card and call the number on the card to access care.” She added.
The Permeant Secretary, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alhaji Waheed Adesina, called on the stakeholders at the meeting to enlighten and reshape the mind set of the parents and members of the community on certain behavioral change particularly the vaccination of their children.
He said ” The partnership between the Ministry of Information and Strategy and UNICEF stands as a demonstration of what can be achieved when vision aligns with action. Over the years, this collaboration has enabled us to forge ahead in addressing critical challenges faced by mothers and children across all socio-economic strata.”
“As partners, we have demonstrated that no child need be left behind when institutions unite under a common purpose. This platform, formerly known as the State Social Mobilisation and Technical Committee (S-SOMTEC) Meeting, has long served as a pillar of dialogue on child survival, development, and protection.”
“It has ensured that government policies and interventions transcend lip service to reach the grassroots, touch the lives of our children and safeguarding their futures. Yet, as we evolve in our understanding of societal dynamics, we recognise the need to sharpen our focus.” he noted.
Earlier, the Programme Director, Alhaja Kemi Ewedairo-Yusuf, said that the meeting would provide the stakeholders the opportunity to strengthen their collective efforts in addressing the pressing issues affecting mothers and children in their communities.
“Over the years, this platform has proven instrumental in driving impactful policies and interventions. Today, as we refine our focus on Social and Behavioural Change (SBC), we reaffirm our resolve to not only raise awareness but to inspire lasting, transformative actions at the grassroots level.” She stressed
