Bayelsa First Lady Flags Off Integrated Measles–Rubella Vaccination Campaign, Receives Award of Excellence
Yenagoa | January 26, 2026
The Wife of the Bayelsa State Governor, Dr. (Mrs.) Gloria Diri, on Monday flagged off the Integrated Measles–Rubella Vaccination Campaign in Yenagoa, aimed at protecting children against vaccine-preventable diseases.
In a statement signed by the Press Secretary to the Wife of the Governor, Marie Olodi Osumah, the campaign was described as a critical intervention to safeguard children aged nine months to fourteen years from measles, rubella and other deadly but preventable childhood illnesses.
Measles and rubella are among the leading killer diseases to which unvaccinated children between the ages of five and fourteen are exposed, often resulting in severe complications and death.
The campaign is designed to promote healthy growth and overall well-being of children while preventing measles and congenital rubella syndrome across Bayelsa State.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony, the First Lady recalled that preparations and renewed efforts to eliminate vaccine-preventable childhood diseases began in 2025 with the launch of a statewide advocacy rollout, which was replicated across all local government areas.
According to her, the initiative has helped to establish a more resilient and coordinated approach to ensuring that children aged nine months to fourteen years are protected from preventable diseases.
Dr. Diri stressed that measles–rubella vaccines are safe and remain the most effective means of building children’s immunity against measles, congenital rubella syndrome, convulsions, blindness, brain damage and, in severe cases, death. She reassured mothers of the safety and efficacy of the vaccines and called on all stakeholders to encourage full participation in the exercise.
“This campaign is an integrated one. It combines the measles–rubella vaccine with other essential vaccines, including the malaria vaccine for children aged five months to one year, and the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for nine-year-old girls,” she said.
She added that trained health workers would administer the vaccines at temporary fixed posts located in markets, town halls, village squares, schools, churches, mosques, motor parks, waterfronts and other designated locations to ensure full coverage.
The campaign runs from January 27 to February 5, 2026.
Dr. Diri urged religious leaders, traditional rulers, youths, and the management of public and private schools to support immunisation activities by granting unhindered access to health workers, noting that such cooperation would help address challenges of rejection and non-compliance.
Presenting an Award of Excellence to the First Lady, the Commissioner for Health, Professor Seiyefa Brisibe, on behalf of GAVI, UNICEF and the Bayelsa State Primary Health Care Board, said the honour was in recognition of her sustained commitment to improving infant and maternal health in the state. He described her as a shining example of the nursing profession.
Professor Brisibe disclosed that the programme was organised in honour of the memory and legacy of the late Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State (2020–2025).
He also commended Governor Senator Douye Diri for his commitment to improving life expectancy through quality healthcare delivery, citing the renovation and upgrading of twenty primary health facilities and three secondary facilities across the state’s senatorial districts—efforts that earned Bayelsa a $400,000 healthcare grant last year.
Earlier, the Member representing Sagbama Constituency I in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly and Chairman, House Committee on Health, Hon. Godbless Oyinki, urged mothers to focus on the benefits of immunisation rather than myths surrounding it, stressing that vaccination remains vital in protecting children from killer diseases.
The event was attended by the Executive Secretary of the Bayelsa State Primary Health Care Board, Dr. Williams Appah, representatives of WHO, UNICEF, GAVI, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, the Yenagoa Local Government Chairman Hon. Buludiseye Ndewari, Vice Chairman Hon. Josephine Omavie, as well as representatives of the NMA, NAWOJ, women organisations and other stakeholders.
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