FCTA board wants more cold-chains for vaccines storage
FCTA board wants more cold-chains for vaccines storage
NAN-H-55
Vaccine
By Mustapha Sumaila
Abuja, Feb. 13, 2018 (NAN) The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Primary Health Care Development Board has appealed to the FCT Administration and area councils to provide more cold-chain facilities for the storage of vaccines in the territory.
The Acting Executive Secretary of the Board, Dr Mathew Ashikeni, made the appeal while speaking on the ongoing measles immunisation in the territory during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.
Ashikeni explained that inadequate cold rooms for the vaccines were part of the challenges faced in the ongoing exercise in FCT.
However, he said that the board got some facilities and equipment from Kaduna State to use for the immunisation to ensure effectiveness and efficiency of the vaccination programme.
According to him, the health workers being used are also inadequate and there is need for the FCT administration to engage more hands.
“We seriously need more cold-chain system for the storage of our vaccines and we had to go to our neighbouring states like Kaduna to get such.
“Our health workers are equally inadequate that is why our activities are staggering because obvious challenges and that is why we are not doing the immunisation in all the places concurrently,” he said.
The secretary described the turn out of the children for the vaccination so far as tremendous and massive.
Ashikeni expressed joy for the awareness created by media before the commencement of the programme which in turn resulted to the massive turnout.
“Some schools in FCT were calling us to come and vaccinate their pupils; that show people have realised the danger of measles,” he said.
NAN reports that the vaccination which commenced on Feb. 8, will end on Feb. 20, and 619,000 children are expected to be immunised. (NAN)
MS/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola