Body laments 2.3m unimmunised in Nigeria
Lagos State Government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), yesterday, sought the support of the media to boost the immunisation of children in the country.
The two institutions said that the target could only be met with the support of the media. Chief of UNICEF Field Office for Southwest Nigeria, Celine Lafoucriere, and the Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilisation Focal Person of the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board (LSPHCB), Ayoade Shoboyejo, made the appeal during the ongoing two-day media dialogue with some journalists in the Southwest and Edo states.
The dialogue, which has the theme: “Achieving the Health Sector SDGs for over Two million Children at Risk of Death in Nigeria: A Media Dialogue to Enhance Routine Immunisation and Reduce Zero Doze Children,” is being held at Sangotedo, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.
Lafoucriere, who spoke virtually, said it was sad that 2.3 million children still have not received vaccine in Nigeria. She said that to address the challenge, UNICEF is working with governments and partners to achieve 15 per cent immunisation at the 100 prioritised local councils across 18 states with the highest concentration of those zero dose children.
The UNICEF chief said: ”I am coming to you this morning with sad news. We still have a very pressing challenge in Nigeria where 2.3 million children still have received no vaccine at all.
”You will remember that UNICEF referred to those children as zero dose children. They are mostly in marginalised and hard-to-reach areas and vaccination remains very essential to their health and fundamental to every child and remains fundamental to improving the health outcome and reducing inequality.
”To address this in Nigeria, UNICEF, together with the governments and valued partners like you, we have prioritised 100 local councils across 18 states with the highest concentration of those zero dose children in collaboration with you. We need to join hands to accelerate the rate of immunisation in Nigeria. What we want to do is to ensure that by each year, we increase the rate of vaccinating children by 15 per cent and the need to have reached 30 per cent more vaccinated children by 2025.
“This cannot be done without you and we count on you to join hands with us today and make sure that we leverage your influence. Your influence is very important. You can catalyse action and share successes with us. By working collectively, we can build a resilient health system that is capable of reaching each and every child, leaving no one behind no matter where they live to ensure that no child in Nigeria is suffering from preventable diseases.”
On his part, Shoboyejo said Lagos State is targeting 80 per cent of the state’s population on yellow fever vaccination from nine months to 44 years. He said: “We are targeting 80 per cent of Lagos State population. This exercise is very important. We are expected to cover about 80 per cent of the entire population in Lagos State. It is a huge task for us. We want the media to help us amplify our voices to curb the misconception about vaccination.”
Also speaking, the Assistant Immunisation Programme Coordinator, LSPHCB, Dr Adebayo Adeniji, called on residents to embrace the immunization, adding that immunisation increases productivity and saves lives.