The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has appealed to parents, guardians, caregivers, and school authorities to prioritise the health and safety of children by ensuring full compliance with ongoing immunisation campaigns against preventable diseases such as measles and rubella.
The appeal followed reports that several schools and institutions within the FCT had denied vaccination teams access to eligible children during the ongoing measles and rubella immunisation exercise, a development the Administration said exposes children to unnecessary health risks.
Mandate Secretary of the Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Dr. Dolapo Fasawe, who made the appeal on Thursday in Abuja, expressed deep concern over the situation, warning that non-compliance undermines public health efforts and threatens the safety of children.
“This non-compliance not only denies eligible children protection against measles and rubella but also disrupts the daily implementation plans of the campaign. Such actions are deeply concerning because they undermine public health gains and put our children at unnecessary risk,” Fasawe said.
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She urged parents to allow their children to be vaccinated in accordance with the Child Health Act, emphasising that immunisation remains safe, effective, and essential for protecting every child.
“We appeal to all school proprietors, administrators, and parents to join hands with us to uphold the health rights of our children. Immunisation saves lives, it is a collective responsibility, a legal duty, and a moral imperative. Together, we can ensure that no child in the Federal Capital Territory is denied protection from preventable diseases,” she stated.
Fasawe further stressed that denying a child access to vaccination constitutes a violation of the child’s fundamental rights. She revealed that the FCTA had compiled a list of non-compliant schools and institutions, initiated targeted advocacy and community sensitisation, and issued formal letters reminding affected schools of their legal responsibilities under the Child Rights Act (CRA).
She added that the Administration had concluded plans for a three-day mop-up exercise involving 132 vaccination teams to reach unvaccinated children across affected areas.
To strengthen enforcement and ensure sustainability, Fasawe disclosed that the FCTA had approved new directives for all public and private schools. These include mandatory immunisation verification during admission, re-admission, or transfer; maintenance of a Child Health Register in every school; collaboration with nearby Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs) for on-site immunisation sessions; regular inclusion of immunisation awareness in school assemblies and PTA meetings; and submission of monthly compliance reports through the Education Secretariat to the Health Services and Environment Secretariat (HSES).
She warned that failure to comply with these directives would attract administrative sanctions under existing FCT Education and Public Health Regulations.
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