THE CASE FOR ROUTINE IMMUNISATION
Immunisation shields dangerous infections and prevents unnecessary deaths The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Mohammed Pate, has been proactive on the issue of children immunisation. Two years ago, Nigeria became the
The Nigerian Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Mohammed Pate, has been a strong advocate for routine immunisation, particularly for children. In 2020, Nigeria became the first country to introduce a new vaccine against meningitis, recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). However, challenges such as security issues and difficulties in accessing certain areas continue to hinder routine immunisation efforts.
Health officials require support from various stakeholders, such as the media, religious leaders, traditional authorities, and civil society, to successfully promote routine immunisation among children in Nigeria.
Preventable infectious diseases like Polio, Measles, Yellow Fever, Tuberculosis, Hepatitis B, and Diphtheria are routinely immunised against through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPCHDA). The recent outbreak of Diphtheria, resulting in numerous deaths across Northern states, highlights the dangers of neglecting immunisation.
The country's childhood vaccination coverage has consistently fallen short of the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) targets, leaving many Nigerian children vulnerable to death and vaccine-preventable diseases. A recent report by UNICEF revealed that 67 million children worldwide missed out on routine vaccinations between 2019 and 2021, with Nigeria ranking second only to India in terms of children at risk of death and vaccine-preventable diseases.
UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell, warned that the pandemic could exacerbate the situation, leading to further deaths caused by measles, diphtheria, or other preventable diseases. The World Health Organisation reported that Nigeria has approximately two million "zero-dose" children, meaning they have not received any vaccinations.
This, coupled with recent cases of polio virus in Nigeria, is deeply concerning. Further alarming is the fact that about 2,300 under-five-year-old children and 145 women of childbearing age die daily in Nigeria, mostly in the northern part of the country, due to avoidable deaths caused by poor vaccination.
The Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN) has repeatedly raised concerns about the low percentage of children who have received all the vaccines in the national programme, which stands at 23 per cent. The PAN's president, Ekanem Ekure, noted that the high under-five mortality rate in the country is due to children not receiving vaccinations for diseases that can be prevented.
These children are primarily in urban slums, conflict areas, and remote and hard-to-reach communities. Ekure emphasized that Nigeria has the highest under-five mortality rate globally and that free vaccines are available for these preventable diseases. The importance of vaccination as a cost-effective public health measure cannot be overstated, and there is an urgent need for improved education and awareness about the dangers of avoiding childhood vaccinations.
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