UNICEF Flags Off Fathers For Good Health Pilot Program In Misau, Ningi LGAs Of Bauchi

By Khalid Idris Doya

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has described Misau and Ningi Local Government Areas of Bauchi state as a recipe for eventual disaster or zero dose vaccine, having not received any preventable vaccine against any disease outbreak.

The Social Behaviour Change communication specialist of UNICEF, Bauchi Field Office, George Eki was speaking with journalists’ questions in Misau yesterday during the UNICEF visit to assess the impact of “Fathers for Good Health” program.

According to UNICEF the “Fathers for good health” initiative aims to engage fathers in promoting the adoption of positive health seeking behaviour.

Mr Eki said, “We selected two LGAs for our pilot studies which are Misau. These two LGAs are what we call zero dose LGAs, which means you have a lot of children from these communities that never receive a single dose of vaccine”.

“This, we can say is not good, is a recipe for disaster because what it means is that if you have more chicken that are zero dose, there is going to be an outbreak.

“So we look at other cretario, for instance the offtake of vaccines in health facilities, and these two LGAs are low performing LGAs.

George explained that based on the selection criteria they went to the communities to engage them in different ways for a change of attitude.

“Community have a voice in deciding what needs to change, we talk to men, we talk to indolence mothers, we talk to elderly fathers and what came out was very clear, it was the confirmation of the studies that we have gotten so far”.

“Mothers keep telling us, if you want our children to be vaccinated, please you need to help us talk to men. So the establishment of the support group is quite good”.

The Specialist concluded, “So what we have done across the 36 wards of the two Local Government Areas, we have established what we call Fathers for Good Health Support Group, it is ten men in each ward, making a total of 360 fathers addressing this issue, and so far we are beginning to get results”.

A member of the ‘Father’s for Good Health initiative in Misau, Malam Aliyu Abubakar when journalists sought his response about the programme said, “We are now encouraged to embrace the programme having been fully enlightened about its objectives and mission.”

He said, “To be candid, in the past, I didn’t allow for preventive vaccination to my children or wives, but following the enlightenment drive by people from UNICEF, Iam now mostly eager for my family to access the prevention vaccines from the UNICEF people.

Abubakar who explained that three of his six children are today among those who access preventive healthcare services, stated, “It is imaginable to say that today I am among those who educate my community members on the significance of adopting health services preventive measures”.

Abubakar similarly described as incomparable the health conditions of those who access preventive health services and others ignorance about the adage, health is wealth.

Also speaking, a father and member the group, Yahaya Barde Ibrahim expressed gratitude for the UNICEF enlightening them on how best to guide their children towards the proper health upbringing of their children, saying “I am confidence that the preventable vaccines being administered to our children would repel any communicable disease against them”.