The church and other community-based social organisations should mobilise and actively be at the forefront of community-based prevention of diseases, Dr Henry Egbe Ayuk, Cross River State Health Commissioner has advised.
Dr Ayuk who took his health advocacy, Sunday, to the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, Ikot Nkebre-Calabar, told the church to actively align with government agencies conducting mobile outreaches in communities to provide prevention against prevailing diseases.
The Health Commissioner said his admonition was necessitated by the presence of a mobile team from the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency who visited the church to provide polio immunisation and Mectizan treatment for onchocerciasis respectively.
Dr Ayuk who had earlier received Mectizan treatment from the visiting mobile team, admonished the church to make use of the opportunity to immunise their children and mass treatment with Mectizan, as well as support and encourage the mobile teams to sustain regular visitations.
The visiting mobile team thanked the Commissioner for the support given to them during the trip and promised to convey his gesture to the State Primary Health Care Development Agency.
The advocacy received wide acceptance from church members who trooped out for doses of Mectizan as well as bringing their children for vaccination.