Medical experts have lamented that about 2.3 million Nigerian children have not received any routine immunisation vaccines, putting them at risk of preventable diseases and even death.
The professionals disclosed this during the launch of the Zero-Dose Reduction Operational Planning initiative in Lagos on Wednesday.
The programme which was in partnership with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, the World Health Organisation, United Nations Children’s Fund, Gavi, and the Lagos Government, was aimed at identifying and vaccinating children who have never been immunised.
With this project, the state government is focusing on individuals aged 0 to 44 years for supplementary immunisation.
Recall that the President of the Paediatric Association of Nigeria, Prof Ekanem Ekure had said that Nigeria disproportionately accounted for 2.2 million of the 4.4 million zero-dose children in West Africa, the highest in the world.
Ekure disclosed this while speaking at the Paediatric Association of Nigeria’s Children’s Art Competition on Immunisation to commemorate the 2024 Children’s Day in Lagos.
According to Ekure, only 23 percent of children were fully immunised according to the Expanded Programme on Immunisation schedule in 2021.
“Zero-dose children are children who have not received any immunisation. West Africa has 4.4 million zero-dose children, and Nigeria has 2.2 million zero-dose children, which is very sad.
“The top areas where those zero-dose children tend to be more located are the urban slumps, conflict areas, and remote and hard-to-reach communities in Nigeria. So a lot has to be done to reach these children in those communities to ensure they receive these immunisations,” he said.
Speaking on routine immunisation, the UNICEF’s Chief of Field Office for South West Nigeria, Celine Lafoucriere, highlighted the critical need for vaccines as a fundamental human right.
She noted that the lack of immunisation among 2.3 million Nigerian children is a significant issue, urging the stakeholders, including the media, to help close the immunisation gap nationwide.
Also, a social and behaviour specialist at UNICEF, Aderonke Akinola-Akinwole identified several challenges contributing to the high number of unimmunised children.
These, Akinola-Akinwole said, include inadequate health facilities, long distances to access care, insecurity, increased workloads for health workers due to migration, insufficient funding, lack of awareness about routine immunisation, low community engagement, and rising misinformation and vaccine hesitancy.
The specialist noted that in tackling vaccine inequity, UNICEF is committed to ensuring no child is left behind, regardless of their background.
Akinola-Akinwole added that the organisation collaborates with the Nigerian government and international partners to procure high-quality vaccines and maintain a robust cold chain system to keep these vaccines effective.
They ensure that vaccines reach even the most marginalised children, Akinola-Akinwole, added.
Sequel to this, Lagos State is preparing for a statewide supplementary immunisation campaign set for October 19, 2024.
Immunisation Programme Coordinator at the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, Dr Adetola Akinpelu, announced that this campaign would integrate vaccines for Measles, Yellow Fever, and Human Papillomavirus, alongside addressing zero doses in routine immunisation.
According to Akinpelu, the campaign aims to fill immunity gaps and achieve a vaccination coverage of 95 percent per cent for Measles and nOPV2, and 80 percent for YF.
This would give children a second chance to receive Measles and YF vaccinations, while older populations will have their first opportunity for YF vaccines.
The initiative targets a significant increase in coverage among zero-dose children across 20 Local Government Areas, while the campaign will mobilise 7,109 teams, including fixed and house-to-house vaccination efforts, to ensure comprehensive reach and care.
SOURCE: PUNCH NEWS
