The Kwara State Government has urged religious leaders to challenge misinformation about vaccines, blood transfusions and Caesarean sections to improve access to essential healthcare and protect the lives of women and children.
The government made the call on Friday, October 23, during a one-day orientation programme for religious leaders on promoting positive social norms through the Faith-for-Life approach in Ilorin, the state capital.
The Executive Secretary of the Kwara State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Professor Nusirat Elelu, said religious and traditional leaders could help reduce maternal, newborn and infant mortality by using their influence to promote accurate health information in their communities.
Elelu said religious leaders occupied positions of trust and could help strengthen health advocacy at the community level.
“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,” she said.
She expressed concern that cultural barriers, religious misconceptions and misinformation sometimes discouraged families from accepting essential medical interventions.
Elelu urged religious leaders to encourage pregnant women to attend antenatal clinics and seek appropriate medical care when necessary.
She also highlighted the importance of exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life, routine immunisation and efforts to prevent stillbirths.
The Social and Behaviour Change Specialist at the United Nations Children’s Fund’s Kaduna Field Office, Ibrahim Tsado, urged religious leaders to address misconceptions about vaccines and educate their congregations on the importance of routine immunisation.
Tsado said vaccines underwent stringent regulatory processes before approval and encouraged the leaders to use their influence to correct misinformation and persuade parents to immunise their children.
The World Health Organisation’s Kwara State Coordinator, Emmanuel Eyitayo, also emphasised the importance of public confidence in vaccines, saying they underwent rigorous assessments before approval by the relevant authorities.
The United Nations Population Fund’s state coordinator, Gloria Enueze, encouraged mothers and caregivers to ensure that children received routine immunisation. She also urged pregnant women to receive recommended vaccinations to protect themselves and their unborn children.
The Director of Primary Healthcare Systems, Michael Oguntoye, said vaccines and medicines introduced into Nigeria were subject to regulatory scrutiny by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control.
Oguntoye also dismissed claims that immunisation programmes were designed to reduce Nigeria’s population, explaining that financial support for vaccination programmes did not mean donors independently manufactured or marketed the vaccines.
Participants at the programme included representatives of 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.
