No fewer than 36,479 women have been immunized against tetanus under the ongoing Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Elimination (MNTE) campaign in Mashi Local Government Area of Katsina State.
The programme coordinator of the campaign in the council, Tukur Sani, disclosed this while monitoring the exercise, describing the turnout of eligible women as encouraging.
He said the campaign targets women between the ages of 15 and 49 years, with a total target of 65,680 beneficiaries across the local government.
According to him, by the third day of the exercise, 36,479 women had received the tetanus vaccine, representing 56 per cent of the target population.
Sani expressed optimism that the campaign would achieve a coverage similar to the previous round, which recorded about 80 per cent of the target population.
He attributed the impressive turnout to intensive community mobilization carried out before the exercise.
âWe organized several awareness activities, including community dialogues, meetings and town hall sessions to address the challenge of late turnout experienced during previous campaigns,â he said.
The coordinator explained that the tetanus immunization is designed to protect women, particularly during childbirth, against tetanus infection and other related complications, thereby reducing maternal and newborn deaths.
He urged residents to appreciate development partners, especially donors, for supporting the intervention and advised communities not to spread misinformation capable of discouraging people from participating in life-saving healthcare programmes.
âWe should support healthcare interventions that benefit women and children rather than make unfounded assertions that could discourage people from accessing these services,â he added.
Speaking at the Mashi Comprehensive Health Care Centre, the Officer in Charge of Antenatal Care, Amina Umar, said the facility attends to more than 200 women daily during the immunization exercise.
She noted that many women had already been vaccinated before journalists arrived at the centre.
âYou can see the number of women here now. If you had come earlier, you would have seen many more because a lot of them have already received their vaccines,â she said.
According to Umar, beneficiaries travelled from communities including Gara, Doka, Bunuma, Kasagi and Galle to receive the vaccines.
She commended the women for their cooperation and commitment to completing the vaccination schedule.
âThis is the second dose we are administering. The first dose was given four weeks ago. After this, they will receive another dose in six months, followed by one dose after one year and a final dose one year later, making a total of five doses for complete protection against tetanus,â she explained.
One of the beneficiaries, Zainab Yahaya, expressed gratitude to UNICEF and other partners for supporting the campaign.
She said although she experienced mild side effects after receiving her second dose, she remained convinced of the importance of the vaccine in protecting women against tetanus and other infections.
Yahaya encouraged other eligible women to take advantage of the free immunization exercise, describing it as an important step towards safeguarding the health of mothers and their babies.
