The Kwara State Government has urged religious and traditional leaders to counter vaccine misinformation and challenge beliefs that discourage families from accessing essential healthcare services.
The Executive Secretary of the Kwara State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Prof. Nusirat Elelu, made the call at a one-day orientation programme for religious leaders on promoting positive norms through the Faith-For-Life approach.
According to a statement issued on Saturday by the agency’s Press Secretary, Bukola Abdulganiyu, Elelu described religious and traditional leaders as influential figures whose involvement was critical to reducing maternal, newborn and infant mortality and improving immunisation uptake.
“We need people like you to strengthen health advocacy in our communities. You occupy positions of trust and are voices of authority as imams and pastors,” the statement quoted Elelu as saying.
The executive secretary said religious leaders had important roles to play in addressing challenges affecting maternal and child health, including misconceptions surrounding routine immunisation and other essential medical interventions.
“We need your support in addressing the challenges of maternal, newborn and infant mortality, immunisation, hygiene and sanitation, and child protection,” she was quoted as saying.
Elelu expressed concern that some religious beliefs, cultural barriers and misinformation discouraged families from accessing essential healthcare services, including blood transfusion, Caesarean section and routine immunisation.
She stressed that protecting women and children from preventable deaths required collective responsibility, noting that every pregnant woman deserved appropriate antenatal care.
The agency’s executive secretary also highlighted the importance of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, routine immunisation and timely access to healthcare services.
She urged religious leaders to bridge information gaps in their communities by providing accurate health information, addressing concerns about medical interventions and encouraging positive behavioural change.
Also speaking, the Social and Behaviour Change Specialist of the United Nations Children’s Fund, Kaduna Field Office, Ibrahim Tsado, urged religious leaders to take responsibility for dispelling vaccine myths and misinformation in their respective communities.
The statement quoted Tsado as encouraging participants to educate their congregations and communities on the importance of immunisation.
He described vaccination as a safe and approved means of protecting children against vaccine-preventable diseases, adding that vaccines underwent stringent regulatory processes before approval.
The UNICEF representative urged religious leaders to address misconceptions and encourage parents and caregivers to ensure their children received routine immunisation.
He said community acceptance was essential to improving vaccination coverage and protecting children against preventable diseases.
Similarly, the World Health Organisation State Coordinator, Emmanuel Eyitayo, emphasised the safety of vaccines, explaining that they underwent rigorous assessments before approval by the appropriate regulatory authorities.
Eyitayo urged stakeholders to promote accurate information about vaccination and help build public confidence in immunisation programmes.
The United Nations Population Fund State Coordinator, Dr Gloria Enueze, also called on mothers and caregivers to ensure their children received routine immunisation.
Enueze further underscored the importance of recommended vaccinations during pregnancy in protecting expectant mothers and their unborn children.
The Director of Primary Healthcare Systems, Michael Oguntoye, explained that vaccines and medicines introduced into Nigeria were subjected to regulatory scrutiny by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control before approval for use.
Oguntoye also dismissed claims that vaccination programmes were designed to reduce Nigeria’s population, specifically rejecting allegations that Bill Gates was sponsoring immunisation initiatives for that purpose.
He explained that, “financial support for immunisation programmes did not mean donors independently manufactured or marketed the vaccines”.
The director added that vaccines used in Nigeria were also used in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom.
Participants at the orientation programme were drawn from various religious organisations, including the Women Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria, the Christian Association of Nigeria, the Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria and Jama’atu Nasril Islam.