By Stephen Gbadamosi, Ibadan
National Orientation Agency (NOA), Oyo State Directorate, has reaffirmed its commitment to public health advocacy and grassroots mobilisation by joining stakeholders in the health sector to sensitise residents on the 2026 Sub-National Immunisation.
The programme is aimed at protecting children under five against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
The sensitisation meeting, organised by the State Ministry of Health at its Conference Centre, Ibadan, brought together health educators and development partners, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and CORONA, traditional rulers and other relevant stakeholders.
In his welcome address, Mr. O.S. Olaoye, who represented the Executive Secretary, emphasised the critical importance of routine immunisation, warning that failure to vaccinate eligible children could expose them to preventable diseases, disabilities and even death.
He disclosed that poliovirus had been detected in Ibadan North and Ogbomoso North Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state, identifying the two councils as priority locations for the immunisation exercise.
He acknowledged NOA’s contributions to public sensitisation and called for sustained collaboration, particularly through the agency’s grassroots structures across the 33 local government areas of the state.
Speaking on behalf of the NOA State Director, Dr. Ogundipe of the Health and Social Care Department reiterated the agency’s readiness to collaborate with the Ministry of Health and other relevant stakeholders to ensure wider public awareness and active community participation.
He stressed the importance of timely information dissemination, effective coordination and strategic engagement with communities, assuring that NOA would continue to deploy its extensive grassroots network to promote public health awareness, encourage immunisation uptake and support early disease detection.
