The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) said on Sunday said that record has revealed that preventable childhood diseases like measles is one of the leading causes of death among Nigerian children.
To fight this scourge and other such health conditions, the NMA called for immediate declaration of national emergency in the health sector; and put all machinery in place towards eradicating the negative health situation from the country.
Addressing a press conference during the kick-off of the 2015 Annual Physicians’ Week, President of NMA, Dr Kayode Obembe said, in 2013 alone, there were 145, 700 measles deaths globally and about 400 deaths every day or 16 deaths every hour.
However, Obembe observed that measles vaccination resulted in a 75 per cent drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2013 worldwide; while between 2000 and 2013, measles vaccination prevented an estimated 15.6 million deaths making measles vaccine one of the best buys in public health.
“Whereas some states of the federation are doing well, data from the Nigerian Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) 2013 shows that some states performed woefully but change has come,” he said. He pointed out that there is no specific treatments for measles, as those that recover from the disease run the risk of developing complications; such as: blindness, encephalitis, severe diarrhoea, ear infection and pneumonia.
He emphasised that primary prevention of measles and other vaccine preventable illnesses remains “the game changer-top of the pack in our efforts to eradicate these aliments.”
Obembe said the week long activities were originally fashioned in line with the World Health Day activities of the World Health Organisation (WHO), adding that the 2015 Physicians’ Week would hold at all the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The NMA president said the theme of this year’s celebration: “Routine Immunisation in the Change Era,” will target measles and other vaccine preventable diseases; while the sub-theme: “The National Health Act 2014 and Immunisation,” will reflect on the near success story of Nigeria in it’s dogged determination and struggles to eradicate polio, measles and other vaccines preventable illnesses.
By: Soji-Eze Fagbemi
Tribune News
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