Ibadan, 27 April 2022 – Fatunmobi Christiana, a nursing officer with nearly 30years of working skills, is totally-known in her community, seriously among moms.


As matron and officer-in-cost of Idi-Ogugun Major Smartly being Care Centre in Ibadan Oyo Jabber, her mission is to be definite no minute one falls sufferer to polio or every other preventable childhood disease. 

With Nigeria currently leveraging its polio networks and infrastructure to abet pressure the COVID-19 vaccination response, female health workers address Christiana had been striking their skills garnered over time while working in polio eradication to correct employ, encouraging uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine in their native communities.

“Working on COVID-19 vaccination is linked to working in polio eradication; an everyday say linked to every ailments is vaccine hesitancy,” talked about Christiana. “Phase of the job is to  sensitize other folks so as that they say their personal praises for vaccination and that’s precisely what now we procure got been doing with COVID-19” she talked about. 

Christiana’s colleague, Rukayiat Okanlawon, an immunization officer in Ibadan North Local Authorities Home, agreed that skills working as a polio frontline officer puts her in correct stead for addressing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. 

“We encounter loads of misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine in the self-discipline, which causes  rumors and skepticism [in communities]. I’m counting on the trust constructed for the length of earlier polio vaccination campaigns to inspire uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine in my hold community. Folks trust that I is no longer going to picture them to receive a shot that will wound them,” she talked about.

Trademarks, ethos, pathos, and girls folks

In conditions where other folks refuse vaccination, it’s up to health workers address Christiana and Okanlawon to head to the households and give advice on the advantages of immunization, and risks that near from low ranges of coverage. Christiana firmly believes that many neatly being interventions, along with  immunization, are finest when delivered by girls folks. 

“Apart from the logical and moral argument, girls folks can extra simply join with caregivers at the doorstop as ourselves moms, sisters, other halves and daughters. For polio as an illustration, we empathize with mother and father when addressing concerns and explaining the importance of getting their teens immunized. This is important in setting up trust,” she talked about.

“Nigeria used to be ready to eradicate wild poliovirus thanks to the employment of many vaccinators, especially girls folks, who sensitized communities on the importance of vaccination. I’m optimistic that Nigeria will also overcome COVID-19”, she added.


 


Reaching success


 


To abet pressure the COVID-19 vaccination response, the Nigerian Authorities, with strengthen from the World Smartly being Organization (WHO), began utilising polio networks for the reason that onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. In line with WHO Jabber Coordinator in Oyo Jabber, Bassey Enya Bassey, this has helped affect indispensable success in phrases of surveillance, contact tracing, and vaccination, with attributable to female health workers akin to Christiana.  

“The [health worker] capacity that has been constructed for the length of the polio campaigns is one amongst the right things that has took space to Nigeria, and this has been evident in phrases of the success of diverse immunization activities. The involvement of Christiana and other girls folks as polio frontline vaccinators performs the biggest role in neatly being intervention and immunization companies and products,” he added.

With strengthen from WHO, Nigeria has been strategic with the inclusion of female polio workers right via the country. From January 2020 to June 2021, girls folks procure made up approximately 80 % of the polio frontline workers, vaccinating hundreds and hundreds of teens right via the country. 


  


Technical Contacts: 


Dr Boateng Kofi; Electronic mail: boatengko [at] who.int


Dr Samuel Bawa; Electronic mail: bawasa [at] who.int