UNICEF Ambassador Advocates On Collaborative Effort For Improved Immunization

By Bashir Hassan Abubakar

The UNICEF Nigeria, Maternal and Child Health (MNCH) Ambassador Ms. Kate Henshaw has called on key stakeholders in the health care sector to collaborate and bring about improved service delivery in MNCH in Bauchi State and the Country at large. 

Ms. Henshaw, a famous Nigerian film celebrity and an influencer made the call at the UNICEF field office Bauchi during an interactive session with Journalists, shortly after visiting some communities, and primary healthcare centres to observe the ongoing routine immunization exercise and interact with some stakeholders. 

The Child Health Ambassador said in that if everyone of the key stakeholders becomes an advocate of child health, there will be significant improvement in routine immunization and other MNCH related services. 

Asked on her assessment of the visit to some PHCs in the State, Henshaw said that though women were seen bringing in their children for immunization, a lot more needs to be done by stakeholders to ensure improvement in the current number of women and children accessing healthcare services. 

Henshaw identified some of the stakeholders to include: service providers, religious/community leaders, male caregivers, civil society organizations, journalists, village community mobilizers, community champions and influencers etc. 

She stressed that when such key stakeholders carry out advocacies on the need for communities to access healthcare services, it will change the negative perception being harbored by some segments members of communities with regards to immunization and other healthcare services.

Earlier on, UNICEF Bauchi, Chief of field office  Dr. Tushar Rane thanked Journalists in the State for supporting UNICEF’s initiatives that are geared towards improvement of children and women. 

He said milestones recorded in the implementation of such initiatives could have been possible without the support of Journalists, who used different platforms to sustain conversations on maternal and child health. 

Also speaking, Chief of Communication, UNICEF Nigeria Mr. Rajat Madhok,  said that the  idea behind using celebrities for advocacy is because of the enormous influence they have on the generality of people and how the public hold them in awe. 

Mr. Madhok then appreciated the contribution of Bauchi Journalists for their consistent showcasing of issues related to MNCH and other core areas of UNICEF interventions in the State.