By Chikaodi Chukwuleta- Awka

The Executive Governor of Anambra State , Prof Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has reiterated the resolve of his administration in providing an effective, efficient and quality healthcare services to people of the State.

The Governor stated this on Friday, during the official flag-off of the second phase of the polio vaccination campaign at Umueze-Anam in Anambra West Local Government Area of the State.

Prof.Soludo who was represented by his Deputy, Dr. Onyekachukwu Ibezim, said that since the beginning of the current administration, health sector has been one critical sector the Government has been focusing on with a view to changing the narrative on the health indices of the State.

He pointed out that such commitment of the current Government can also be seen in the consistent youth empowerment programme, construction/rehabilitation of roads, employment of 8,000 teachers and employment of over 400 health workers.

He expressed his gratitude to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other health partners for considering Anambra in their intervention which, according to him, would assist significantly in addressing some of the gaps in healthcare services delivery in the State.

In his address, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Ben Obidike, said  over 2.3 million children under the age of 0-59 months will received the polio vaccine at the closed of the exercise.

He noted that the vaccination campaign is in response to the outbreak of the polio virus in a neighbouring town in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State.

Obidike also noted that the campaign is implemented by the Anambra State Primary Health Care Development Agency in partnership with WHO and other partners and that the vaccines are safe and free of charge.

Earlier in her address, the Executive Secretary, Anambra State Primary Healthcare Development Agency ASPHCDA, Mrs Chisom Uchem, said the state had taken delivery of over two million doses of the polio vaccine for the OBR-II campaign.

Uchem said the vaccination would start on Saturday, November 11, 2023 and end on November 14 in the 21 Local Government Areas of the state.

Also speaking, the State Coordinator of WHO, Dr Adamu Abdul-Nasir, congratulated people of Anambra for exceeding the target and recording top in the South-East in the first phase of the vaccination exercise.

Abdul-Nasir said, “We want to commend the State Government for its political will and proactive measures in preventing the polio virus from spreading in the State.

“In this second phase, WHO is supporting the state with logistics and allowances for over 9,000 personnel who will be going to homes, churches, markets, streets and schools to administer the vaccines.

“We are also supporting hard-to-reach communities to ensure that all eligible children get vaccinated”.