By SADIQ ABUBAKAR, Maiduguri –
Borno State Primary Healthcare Development Board ( BSPHCDA) in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Rotary International have organized a one day round table discussions with journalists for the Big- Catch-Up (BCU) for the round table campaign (RTC) Round 3.
The Executive Secretary, BSPHCDA, Professor Mohammed Alhaji, in his welcome address acknowledged the journalists for their support and coverage while stressing that their presence reflects the unwavering commitment the media have towards accurate, timely, and impactful health reporting, in the state.
He also appreciated the support and cooperation of the media while soliciting for continued partnership in promoting public health initiatives across Borno State.
Prod. Alhaji called on parents and guardians to avail their children for the third round immunization while assuring that the vaccines are original and unharmful to children.
The Executive Secretary said,” the aim of the government is to provide improved and better health services and facilities to the people at all the nooks and crannies of the state.”
He added that all hard to reach areas and communities have been addressed with the involvement or use of the community leaders, Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) and vigilante hunters including inaccessible and moderate accessible areas.
“The BCU Round 3 campaign which kick started on Monday for 5 days across ten (10) implementing LGAs in Borno State was aimed to address the zero dose and under immunized children 100 per cent bridge up the 200 per cent under immunized children national statistics.
The Head of RUBCU, who is also a state facilitator, Ali Gambo, discussed the importance of understanding the Big. Catch -Up (BCU) campaign, background and purpose of the BCU, particularly, the Borno State Context
While the State Health Educator (SBC), who is also a state facilitator, Bakura Ali, spoke on the role of journalists in BCU Round 3 towards Combating Misinformation and Promoting Public Awareness
The State Immunization Officer, BCU, Baba Maina elaborated in the reason behind the Big Catch Up (BCU), stressing the reason why the BCU Round 3 was introduced due to the critical situation of the polio immunization exercise, statistics recorded in the first and second round campaigns.against the targeted figures.
He noted that the movement of the population and other constraints experienced from insecurity, hard to reach areas, unacceptable and moderate accessible areas.
Maina maintained that the movements of people from one location to another further truncated the campaigns greatly as targeted numbers, periods of the BCU targets and outcomes.
He noted that the shortcomings realized informed the decision of the introduction of the Big Catch Up Round 3 Campaign which is being kick strayed on Monday 14th April 2025 in the selected LGAs for a period of 5 days or so .
Head of RUBCU further spoke on target population and service delivery approach, fixed outreach and mobile strategies introduced to address the issue
He also explained why the campaign is critical, focus on zero dose and under immunized children and the public health implications, noting that, Nigeria has the highest global burden of Zero-Dose children, with 2.1 million children missing out on life-saving vaccines (WUENIC, 2023).
While Borno state has a target of 127000 Zero dose and under immunized children with the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting immunization programs, leading to an increase in vaccine-preventable diseases like measles, diphtheria, and polio.
The Head of RUBCU added that the outbreaks of these diseases can cause serious illness, disabilities, and even deaths among children and that’s why this campaign is an opportunity to catch up, restore on missed immunizations, protect children, and strengthen the healthcare system.
The UNICEF Social and Behavior Change Officer, Hajiya Zainab Mohammed said the interactive session was targeted at equipping the media with all the necessary information and vital technical data to guide the journalists against misinformation to enable the media change the narrative to positive narratives.
Rotary International Field Coordinator, Borno State, Mr. Almai Some assured continuous and effective partnership with the state government and other partners to serve the people and protect children’s health, while urging other donors to continue to collaborate with Rotary International, UNICEF, WHO, etc to promote, safe , improve and protect the children.
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