Headlines
Immunization awareness tackle measles cases in Kano, as cases rise in Neighboring states
Zulaiha Danjuma
It’s Tuesday morning around 8:30 am at the Kabuga Primary Healthcare Center. The PHC is filled with visitors. The waiting area in less than an hour was packed with people visiting the Primary Healthcare Facility.
Most notable is the crowd of nursing mothers and their babies sitting on branches inside the facility. Four Female healthcare providers took their seats in front of the crowd of babies and mothers.
At 12:15 PM the scene is not different at the Ja’in Primary Health Care Center either. It was immunization day.
Kano Focus reports, 150 to 200 children and mothers visit the Ja’in Primary Health Care Center daily for Immunization.
Vaccination is administered five days a week, from Monday through Friday at the Ja’in PCH.
According to the In-charge at the Ja’in primary health care center, Ahmed Adamu Diso the center saw the need to increase the number of times they attended to infants/toddlers in need of immunization due to the influx of patients to the center
“Before vaccination was done three times a week now it’s been upscaled to 5 times to cater to the demand”
“The constant awareness raising and enlightenment of parents, especially mothers is the reason for the daily influx of patients we see for immunization” Mr Adamu said
Babies from birth to about age two are meant to receive several routine immunizations against vaccine preventable disease. Among these diseases is Measle.
What is Measles?
According to the World Health Organization, Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a serious virus. The virus spreads through direct contact or through the air. It is solely a human virus, which is not found in animals.
Measles immunization is given at 9 months, recently second dose is introduced at 15 months this has proven to protect and prevent children from coming down with measles
Nigeria is ranked tenth among the top 10 countries with Global Measles Outbreak according to the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC)
In a situation report by the Nigerian center for disease control (NCDC) as of January 2022, Kano state had 9 suspected cases, without any laboratory confirmed case
However, neighboring states like Jigawa had 94 suspected cases and 19 confirmed cases, other states like Katsina, Kaduna, and Sokoto had 88, 18, 34 suspected cases and 6, zero, and 6 confirmed cases respectively.
Kano is one of the most populous states in the country with an annual growth range of more than 3%.
The NCDC January Measle situation report 2022 is the most recent report found on the official website of the NCDC.
Measles cases occur but are less severe
According to the second in charge of the Outpatient department (OPD), Ubaidu Alhassan Yahaya at the Ja’in Primary Health Care center; cases of measles are brought to the facility
“I can tell you that the cases of measles are brought in here from time to time”
“Measles cases are some of the likely epidemic cases we get at this facility” he said
However, the In charge of the PCH Ahmed Adamu Diso said the cases are not as frequent or severe as few years ago
“Due to the level of public awareness people now take immunization more seriously now unlike years ago”
“The cases we see now are not as much as before and they are less severe in terms of the degree of the disease due to the fact that the children may have gotten some level of vaccination prior to getting the Measles disease” he said
Regular, Timely immunization decrease the severity of Measles disease in Children
Ms Aisha Umar a mother to a 5-year-old girl who surfaced measle in April 2023 shared her experience with Kano Focus
Ms Umar said her daughter had fever for about three days accompanied with some rashes on her body
She added, that seeing her daughters condition getting worse she brought her to the Ja’in primary health care center
“When we got to the PCH, she was examined and we were informed she had Measles”
“After the diagnosis she was put on some medication and injections for 3 days” she said
Ms Umar went further to explain that her had daughter been immunized against Measles before she got the disease
“From the time of her delivery I had brought her to the PCH center to get fully immunized for about 9 months”
“That was why when she came down with Measles it was not severe, immediately after her medication for 3 days she was free from Measles”
“Her rashes wasn’t that messy; it was mild because she had been immunized and the whole illness last about 3 weeks and she was well again” she said
Ms Umar added that her daughter’s immunization prior to the illness was done free
“When I gave birth to her, she was given an vaccine shortly after her birth at no cost”
“All other times we came to the PHC for the doses of her immunization shots I paid no money at all”
Ms Umar went on to advise young and expectant mothers to come for their babies’ immunization as the process cost nothing
Reduction of Measle cases in Kano
Compared to states like Jigawa, Zamfara, Kaduna and Sokoto, Kano state has seen a decrease in measle cases going by reports and statistics from the Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC)
In 2019, the Epidemiological summary of suspected Measles cases from week 1 to week 52 of the NCDC showed Kano state having a total of 4,141 suspected Measles cases from week 1 to 52, while Kaduna had 1,821 cases, and Jigawa had 1,160 cases.
In that period Kano had 27 deaths, Katsina had 52 deaths, Kaduna and Jigawa had 14 and zero deaths respectively.
Also in 2021, the Nigerian Center for Disease Control in a situation report compiled from January through August 2021, shows Kano state having 121 confirmed cases of measle, 60.3 % of those confirmed cases were in children between the ages of 9 to 59 months
Jigawa had 48 confirmed cases, Katsina had 132 confirmed cases and Kaduna had 17 cases confirmed.
Conversely, in 2022 Kano state seemed to have recorded lesser cases both those suspected and confirmed to be measles in comparison to its neighbors Katsina and Jigawa state
The reduction in recording cases of measles, especially severe ones, is in the rapid education and awareness around the importance of immunization to expectant mothers.
Importance of Immunization in fighting Measles
The Ward Technical officer/In charge of the Kabuga primary health care center, Yusuf Adamu Muhammad said to prevent diseases like measles starts from visits to the PHC
“This is part of the reasons why in the health talk session health workers have at with expectant mother the importance of immunization is emphasized”
“Being fully immunized as a child plays a major role in fighting most of these epidemic diseases” he said
Mr Yusuf added that, the Kabuga primary health care center health personnel engage in home visits as part of its huge awareness efforts on various vaccinable diseases like Measles to educate people on the importance of immunization and vaccination
“The community is constantly sensitized to take the children for their doses of vaccines at the appropriate time, to get that full immunization status”
“Even the adults in the community are encouraged to get vaccinated whenever a vaccinable disease has been recorded and people are advices to get the vaccine” he said
Mr Yusuf went further to explain to Kano Focus that as part of the PCHs preparedness strategies they envisage certain occurrence of diseases, especially those that are prune in certain weather conditions and they raise awareness about such conditions in the community
“When is cold, heat or raining season we go into communities to enlighten the community of best practices to adopt or things to avoid in other to keep safe” he said
On her on part, a disease surveillance officer, Zainab Aminu Graba at the Ja’in Primary Health Care Center said the center had recorded only 1 case of measles from the beginning of May
“The case was recorded on the 10th of may”
According to Ms Zainab, measles cases during the hot weather are not high
“We get more measles cases during cold weather, the case that we got last week was not a severe case, the girl received medical attention as was sent home” she said
However, Ms Zainab added that with every disease like measles the PHC follows strict documentation of patient and further monitoring of case through the Centers focal person who acts as the centers epidemiologist and takes cases of epidemic nature to the appropriate secondary health facility in the state
“When a case of measles or any other possible epidemic case is brought, we have a register where we take down details if the child, the parents’ home address, contact numbers and other personal data for reference and monitoring” she said
Immunization is totally free and safe
The Ward Technical officer and In-charge of Kabuga primary health care said it is necessary for people to understand the importance of immunization
Mr Yusuf said immunization at Primary Healthcare Centers are absolutely free and of high quality
“Prevention is always better than care, people need to understand that immunization is free at PHCs”
“Some people have a misperception of the quality of the drugs at primary health care centers, but I would like to enlighten people that all vaccines in private hospitals are distributed from Primary health centers” he said
Mr Yusuf went on to say that immunization campaigns carried out by health institutions at the door steps of communities should be highly utilized as such exercise is at no cost to the community
“This door-to-door immunization campaigns caught nothing to the parents of these children, because health works go straight into homes to immunize children”
“Even coming to the primary health care center for immunization is free, nobody is asked to pay anything unlike private clinics” Mr Yusuf said
Mr Yusuf also called on community members to discard remorse about unsafe nature of vaccines
He noted that before any vaccine is approved for distribution it has passed through series of test both globally and nationally to ascertain the save nature of the vaccine before it is administered on patients
Myths hinder immunization exercise in some rural communities
According to the Kano state Epidemiologist Dr. Abdullahi Isah-Kauran Mata measles disease is a vaccine treatable condition and is one of the routine immunizations that can be accessed across all health facilities in the state
However, he noted that despite the fact that Kano has 1,300 hospitals, ranging from primary health centers across the 484 political wards up to the level of teaching hospitals who provide routine immunization which are readily available for parents to take their children
There are still some traditional beliefs that make people hesitate to take vaccines
“Vaccine hesitancy is a global issue, even In the most developed and educated or civilized people in the world, there are still people against vaccination”
“We call these people vaccine hesitate communities, in fact currently there are people campaigning against vaccines in developed countries”
“Literacy levels are also factors that hinder vaccination, because there are people who still don’t believe in vaccines”
“The highest we can do is to sensitize them and correct the misconceptions and provide the services close to their door steps”
“It has become everyone responsible including the media to enlighten people to know that vaccines work and they prevent people from diseases and is the best way to take infectious diseases away” he said
Dr. Isah further called on parents to immunize their children as this will save them time and money as well as ensure their children’s health.
Aminu Abdullahi
The adolescent girls initiative for learning and empowerment AGILE has been described as a major catalyst to educational development.
KANO FOCUS reports that the Emir of Rano, Alhaji Muhammad Isa Umaru, made the indication while receiving AGILE team in his palace.
According to him, Kano has witnessed significant progress in girl child education facilitated by AGILE, hence the need for traditional institutions and relevant stakeholders to contribute their quota to achieve the desired objectives.
He noted that, Rano Emirate has been at the forefront of ensuring enrollment retention and completion of girls education through various initiatives.
The emir called on the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) to upgrade the girls school in his community.
The monarch said, the school, located beside the palace, requires expansion to accommodate a larger number of students.
The traditional ruler suggested that AGILE should visit the school to assess its condition, saying that, relocating the school to a bigger location had been earlier considered.
In his remarks the permanent secretary Kano state ministry of education Alhaji Bashir Baffa explained that, they were at the palace to seek for support and blessings form the royal father.
He said, AGILE has fostered an enabling environment for girls through promoting behavioral changes through communication campaigns engagement with traditional rulers and advocacy.
He maintained that, the team has embarked on advocacy visits to all relevant stakeholders at community and state levels on the importance of girls education.
Alhaji Baffa hinted that the state government had declared a state of emergency on education, hence the need for the traditional institution to contribute its quota to achieve the desired objectives.
He posited that, the team will visit the school to see possible ways of intervening for the development of education.
The permanent secretary also used the opportunity to condole Rano emirate over the killing of its indigenes in Uromi.
KANO FOCUS reports that, earlier the team has paid a similar visit to Karaye Emirate council as part of efforts to advocate for support from the traditional institution and relevant stakeholders.
Aminu Abdullahi Ibrahim
The Kano State Ministry of Education’s Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) Project, supported by the World Bank, has successfully renovated over 1,300 senior and junior secondary schools in the state in the last three years.
KANO FOCUS reports that the state commissioner for education, Alhaji Ali Haruna Makoda, disclosed this during a visit to the Karaye Emirate on Tuesday.
He added that the AGILE program has enrolled more than 30,000 girls through targeted outreach, grants, and its Second Chance education initiative.
Makoda further revealed that the state government has finalized plan to construct 130 new schools in rural communities, with over 35,000 girls already benefiting from financial assistance under the scheme.
He urged the Karaye Emirate to lend full support to the program and prioritize girls’ education.
In his remarks, the Emir of Karaye, Alhaji Muhammad Maharaz, pledged the emirate’s commitment to advancing girls’ education in Kano State.
He commended the state government and the commissioner for their dedication to the programme’s success.
“It is our collective responsibility to support this initiative,” the Emir stated, calling for measures to ensure beneficiaries complete their education with strong academic outcomes.
The commissioner’s delegation consist of the Kano State AGILE Project Coordinator, Malam Mujitapha Aminu and other members of State Programme Implementation Unit (SPIU).
Aminu Abdullahi Ibrahim
Bayero University Kano (BUK) on Monday celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Faculty of Education and inaugurated its Alumni Association at the Convocation Arena of the university’s new campus.
KANO FOCUS reports that the event was graced by government officials, education stakeholders, and alumni all gathered to commemorate the faculty’s contributions to Nigeria’s educational sector.
In her keynote address, the State Minister for Education, Mrs. Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad announced the Federal Government’s Sector Renewal Initiative designed to transition Nigeria from a resource-based to a knowledge-based economy.
She highlighted that the aim of the renewal initiative consists of – Reducing the number of out-of-school children; combating learning poverty; nhancing skills development and human capital for the labor market
The minister noted that the initiative prioritizes Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET); Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM); Digital literacy and education quality assurance.
Mrs. Ahmad disclosed that the Federal Government had disbursed ₦35 billion to 261 beneficiaries under the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), with BUK among the top beneficiaries.
“So far, the scheme has received 420 applications, and we are scaling up investments,” she stated.
She further confirmed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved ₦120 billion to boost TVET programs, with plans to train 650 youths in technical, vocational, and digital skills over the next two years.
Emeritus Professor Sani Ahmad Sufi, former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, praised the faculty for its high-quality graduates.
“Our pride lies not just in the number of graduates produced yearly, but in their impact across Nigeria and beyond,” he said.
He added that the faculty has produced Nigeria’s largest pool of graduate teachers many of whom hold key positions nationally and internationally.
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje applauded the faculty for its significant role in advancing education in Nigeria.
The event concluded with awards presented to distinguished alumni and supporters of the faculty in recognition of their contributions to its growth.
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