Ebonyi, UNICEF Engage the Media, Task Parents on Measles/Rubella Vaccination.
Parents, guardians and other residents in Ebonyi State have been urged to take advantage of upcoming Measles and Rubella campaign in the state to secure a healthy future for their children and wards.
The Executive Secretary, Ebonyi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Emeka Philip Ovuoba, gave the admonition Friday in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital.
He spoke while addressing journalists in a one-day sensitization meeting with the media over the campaign.
The event was organised by the Agency in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Johns Hopkins International Vaccine Access Centre (IVAC).
The campaign is aimed at ensuring that all children in the state from age 9 months to 14 years are vaccinated against the deadly measles and Rubella.
The vaccination exercise is scheduled to hold from 4th to 13th February, 2026.
Ovuoba who re-emphasized the total safety of the vaccine and its tested potency, urged the journalists and other media practitioners at the meeting to partner with the Agency in spreading the message.
He said: "I am advising parents and guardians to know that these vaccines have been paid for by the Ebonyi State government and the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency and all the partners in Nigeria.
"This vaccine is free of charge, and free from any form of complication.
"And we are asking them to bring out their children within the stipulated age bracket to be immunized free, so that at the end, no child will have all the deformities associated with these diseases.
"Of course, we know that Information is power and Journalists are the custodians of information dissemination.
"I want you to tell the people of Ebonyi State that phase two of measles and Rubella vaccination is starting from the 4th to13th February, 2026."
The Executive Secretary, in a presentation described Measles as a highly contagious and deadly disease caused by the measles virus which is easily spread through coughs, sneezes or even talks and contact with an infected person.
"Rubella, also known as German measles, is caused by the Rubella Virus which is also contagious.
"It presents like a mild form of Measles disease,” he explained.
The UNICEF Health Consultant and Social Behavioural Change expert, Frank Ifeanyi Nwodika, in further presentation, pointed out that apart from other modes of transmission, Rubella can also be transmitted from a pregnant mother to her unborn child through the placenta, leading to a condition he described as "congenital rubella syndrome (CRS)".
He added: “CRS can cause serious health complications and birth defects to the newborn such as blindness, deafness, brain damage, and a hole in the heart.
"In fact, exposure during pregnancy can lead to certain congenital abnormalities."
Others who spoke at the event including the State Health Educator, Benson Nwali and the State Technical Assistant, International Vaccine Access Centre (IVAC) at Johns Hopkins, advised all parents to bring their children and wards to the designated vaccination centres for active participation in the campaign which is the second phase.
Some of the participant journalists, including Moses Erogu and Angela Ekuma of Ebonyi State Broadcasting Corporation, Chikezie Aluu of Radio Nigeria, Unity FM and Emmanuel Nwizi of NTA, Abakaliki among others, pledged to take the message to the nooks and crannies of the state through their various mediums.