As part of efforts to reduce childhood illnesses and deaths linked to vaccine preventable diseases, the Cross River State government has announced plans to immunise more than 1.9 million children against measles and rubella.
The vaccination exercise aligns with Nigeria’s national strategy to curb the spread of the menace.
The federal government has provided over 1.9 million doses of vaccine to the state and want to achieve over 95 percent of coverage and reduce child mortality rate
The vaccination exercise is scheduled to take place across the 18 local government areas of the state and will target children from nine months to 14 years of age.
Health officials, have said the campaign is designed to reach children in urban, rural and hard to reach communities, and after the campaign, the vaccine will be available for all children at nine months and 15 months, as part of routine immunization efforts.
Director General of the Cross River State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Vivian Mesembe Otu, made this known to journalists in Calabar.
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She noted that trained health workers will administer the vaccines at public health facilities, adding that the campaign is scheduled to run from February 3-14, 2026,
Health partners supporting the exercise, have stressed that measles remains a leading cause of illness among children, especially those who are not fully immunised.
Rubella, they also disclosed, while often mild in children, can cause serious birth defects if a woman becomes infected during pregnancy.
Dr. Umoren Godwin, World Health Organization (WHO) Measles-Rubella Consultant for Cross River State, said measles and rubella are highly contagious viral diseases that pose serious risks to children but can be effectively prevented through timely vaccination.
On her part, UNICEF’s consultant on Social and Behavioral Change, Blessing Eberechukwu, urged media practitioners to key into the campaign for the prevention and elimination of measles and rubella in Nigeria
