UNICEF,  Soludo Declare ROTA Virus Vaccine Free In Anambra

By Eze Chinedum

Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra state and the United Nations International Children Education Fund (UNICEF) have declared ROTA Virus Vaccine free of charge for children between 0-12 months in all public health facilities.

The said ROTA Virus Vaccine which cost about N8000 for a single dose of immunization in private hospitals, prevents incessant vomiting, excessive stooling and nausea in infants. But the vaccine have been completely declared free of any cost for all children in Anambra within the aforestated age bracket.

The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Ben Afam Obidike, who disclosed this to our correspondent in an exclusive interview, said Gov. Soludo is also empowering Primary HealthCare through what he mentioned as Tele-Medicine, adding that the technology of telemedicine facilitates referrals from primary to secondary health facilities in the state.

Although the Commissioner expressed worry that information from the grapevine has it that some people indulged in selling the ROTA Virus Vaccine which was officially made free by the governor and UNICEF for people to access, he said he has mandated nurses to write names and phone numbers of parents or guardians whose kids were administered ROTA Virus Vaccine to check the anomaly.

Obidike told our correspondent that the health sector in Anambra state is being repositioned and that Soludo came and employed almost 300 staff to address the issue of human resource for health in the secondary care.

He also disclosed that currently government is doing what he described as Hub and Spoke Referral System; a system where patients from primary healthcare centres are referred to General Hospitals within same location for a comprehensive health package from doctors in the hospitals.

He explained that telemedicine which was launched about 4 months ago by the governor at Awkuzu, Oyi local government area, enabled people from the primary healthcare to key into the telemedicine hub in order to take care of the healthcare needs of the people especially those at the grassroots.

The Health Commissioner noted that the governor has indirectly empowered the primary healthcare sector through the Hub and Spoke Referral System as the approach has enabled grassroot dwellers to obtain quality treatments from secondary health facilities nearest to primary healthcare centres.

Obidike was of the opinion that government has saved a lot of lives through the Hub and Spoke Referral System especially as it concerns delicate child deliveries, major surgeries and other emergency situations not handled at the primary healthcare level.

Apart from primary healthcare services, Obidike opined that government has gone a step further to strengthen from secondary to tertiary care. This according to him, means that government is improving services at the Teaching Hospitals across the state.

He said all these efforts meant that anybody in Anambra state is guaranteed of quality healthcare. The Health Commissioner further disclosed that the concept of telemedicine implied that all the primary healthcare centres have medical doctors because the hub is a network of information and communication regarding the medical and health needs of Ndi-Anambra.