Breakthrough Action Nigeria (BA-N) has called on men to support their families to boost vaccine and routine immunization uptake and address any health challenges that could arise due to lack of immunization.
The call was made during a Couples Town Hall meeting organized by BA-N, where couples were brought together to discuss the importance of family members (father, mother and children) staying up to date on vaccines and routine immunization uptake.
The town hall meeting is part of the #TeamVaccine campaign where BA-N team has leveraged the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) and English Premier League (EPL) matches at Football viewing centres to promote vaccine and RI uptake.
While speaking to BONews at the couples’ town hall meeting, Mr. David Akinpelu, Risk, Communication and Community Engagement Officer, BA-N Ibadan Office, explained that the importance of vaccine and routine immunization cannot be overemphasized, and it is important that men support their families throughout the process.
Akinpelu said “all along, we’ve been engaging with men at football viewing centers but at this point, we think we need to engage with their wives, bring them together and get them involved.
“Based on the interactions today, we found out men have not supported their families enough and bringing their wives together made the wives realize that their husbands have roles to play in the process,” he added.
Speaking on the importance of vaccine uptake, Akinpelu said “vaccination and immunization are life savers. Look at what is going on in some states of the country, particularly when it comes to diphtheria.
It is a missed opportunity for those babies that did not get vaccinated against diphtheria, because of that, the disease was able to rear its ugly head and we lost a number of children, and a lot of disability also fell in.”
Akinpelu noted that routine immunization and proper vaccination would have prevented such deaths, and advised that families should stay up-to-date with their vaccinations.
Also speaking on the importance of vaccination, Abidemi Awesu, Social Behavior Change Assistant, BA-N Ibadan office, explained that vaccines and routine immunization boost the child’s immune system against diseases that such “child might be exposed to immediately or later in the future.
Awesu appealed to families that are not sure about the vaccination status of their children to go to the nearest health facility to check and ensure they stay up to date with all vaccinations.
“Regardless of the vaccinations that the child might have missed, they can still take them. For instance, if a child misses BCG, a vaccination that should have been taken at birth, such a child can still take it up to 11 months.
“Parents should not be discouraged that their children have missed vaccinations, go to the health centers and get them vaccinated. It is better late than never,” she added.
Awesu thereafter appealed to the men to be physically, financially, and emotionally present throughout the immunization period and always remind their wives about when to go for them.
Requesting for their spouses’ support, one of the participants, Mrs Rofiat Omitogun said it is important that husbands are supportive and understanding, especially with the time commitment required during vaccination.
Omitogun said, “mothers need to get to the clinics early so that we can return early, this means the men should assist with the preparation and to get the baby ready.”
Corroborating her, Mrs. Tinuola Oni noted that there is a need for the husbands to provide financial and emotional support, adding that “resources are needed for transport fare to the clinics, to purchase commodities, consumables, and refreshments while waiting at the clinics.”
Mrs Oni also commended the organizers for the dialogue, stressing that “this is a good one and quite impressive. Our men are enlightened through this dialogue session because most of them don’t know what’s happening in the health centers. With this, most of them are better informed and it will encourage them to support us.”