UNICEF Bauchi Field Office is making progress in the fight against vaccine hesitancy in the state, initiating Fathers for Good Health.
The initiative is an effort to end the alarming rates of vaccine hesitancy in Bauchi State.
According to UNICEF Health Specialist, Eki George, one thousand one hundred and thirty volunteers for Fathers for Good Health are being engaged in seven Bauchi LGAs, out of twenty for continued health awareness in different political wards.
The Fathers for Good Health is an initiative of UNICEF and Bauchi Primary Health Care Development Agency, under the, “No Child is Left Behind” programme, borne out of the rising concern of vaccine hesitancy, leading to an increasing number of zero-dose households in the state.
According to the women, the power to vaccinate their children rests with their father’s consent.
For Eki George, UNICEF Health Specialist, it is the first time men are engaged in a task like this, a move to end vaccine hesitancy in zero-dose communities.
In commemoration of Father’s Day, a team of journalists are here in Missau, to assess the impacts of Fathers for Good Health.
The Executive Chairman of Missau Local Government, Salisu Hardawa, and the Director of Primary Health Care in Missau, Ibrahim Maikano, said following the strong collaboration of the local government, there is improvement.
Speaking with one of the volunteer Fathers for Good Health, a polio survivor, Balarabe Musa, expressed disappointment with some parents over ignorance of their children’s health, said the initiative is yielding a positive result.
For these women in Jan Kasa community in Hardawa, Missau Local Government, engaging fathers on the awareness will undoubtedly reduce vaccine hesitancy, as they have the final say over their children.
Turaki Guji who is one of the leaders of Vaccine Hesitancy in Missau says the initiative has enlightened him better.
The programme is being piloted in two LGAs of Missau and Ningi, and later to seven other LGAs, due to its acceptability.
The innovative community-based campaign led by the UNICEF Bauchi Field Office and Bauchi Primary Health Care Development Agency, is being seen as a game-changer, focusing on engaging men—particularly the fathers—as key advocates for routine immunisation and vaccine acceptance in their communities.
Editor: Ebuwa Omo-Osagie
