Health officials on Thursday embarked on an immunisation programme for children recently rescued from Boko Haram camps.
The children, aged between 0-15 years, were immunized at Malkohi Internally Displaced Persons camp in Yola, Adamawa state capital.
The NEMA camps coordinator in the state, Sa’ad Bello, stated that the immunisation programme was initiated in collaboration with the United Nations Children Education Fund and other humanitarian agencies.
According to him, the vaccination exercise was aimed at preventing measles, poliomyelitis, tetanus, whooping cough, diphtheria and hepatitis B.
The immunized children will also be given vitamin and deworming tablets. Most of the rescued children were severely malnourished and had eye infections.
Mr. Bello explained that the agencies provided Integrated Primary Health Care services to IDPs in six camps and four out-of camp settlements in Adamawa.
“As of this month, May, 2015, over 35,961 men, women and children benefitted from various PHC services, including curative service, immunization with Vitamin A supplementation and deworming tablets, screening for malnutrition, HIV counselling and testing,” he said.
“Over 5,345 children, six months to 15 years were vaccinated against measles through immunization campaign and routine immunization in camp clinics.”
On the psychosocial support programme, the camps coordinator said it was operational in the IDPs camps. He said partners and other stakeholders engaged in the monitoring and reporting mechanism on grave violations of children’s rights.
Out of the 275 persons that were rescued and handed over to the National Emergency Management Agency by the 23 Armoured Brigade of the Nigerian Army Yola, about two weeks ago, 63 children were unaccompanied while six women have been confirmed pregnant.
The NEMA mobile clinic was deployed for medical screening to identify those who need treatment, while the agency, in collaboration with UN agencies, had mobilised a team of experts in psycho trauma counselling and medical doctors to provide all the necessary medical care to the rescued.
Similarly, the agency had engaged tailors to sew at least five sets of clothes for each of the rescued women and children as most of them came with only the tattered clothes they wore on the day they were rescued.
