Experts in the Health sector have task the government with the full immunization on Nigerian children. The call came in the wake of World Immunisation Day celebration, which is celebrated on the 24-30 of April of every year.
Although, Nigeria recorded an unprecedented immunisation coverage from 48 per cent in 2017- to 57 per cent in 2019, the first time in the last 10 years, the country still accounts for the highest number of under-immunised children in the world with over 4.5 million children not immunised.
Speaking at the breakfast session of Health Watch Forum in 2019, with the theme ‘Prevent Epidemics: Immunise’, organised by the Nigerian Health Watch, Oyewale Tomori, a professor of virology and former vice chancellor of Redeemer’s University, Ogun State, Nigeria said for Nigeria to prevent imminent epidemics, the population must be vaccinated.
“If only some of the children gets vaccinated, the virus spread, and if most gets vaccinated the virus is contained,” he said.
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Speaking on the decadence that has led to the high index of the country, Tomori, said immunisation is the first line of defence against infectious disease and it is one of the most cost effective and public health interventions that can ensure the averting of estimated 2-3 million deaths recorded under immunisation every year.
According to Tomori only clean water – another basic human right – performed better. WHO list 26 diseases that can be prevented by vaccines. Despite the existence of these vaccines, only 21 per cent of Nigerian children aged 12-23 months are vaccinated against vaccine preventable childhood disease. Hence the basis for the 4.5-5 million Nigerian children unimmunized.
Alarmed by children falling preys to vaccines preventable diseases that ought to have been conquered Nigeria, Tomori explained that given Nigeria’s abundant resources , it ought not to be the last to eradicate vaccine preventable diseases.
Citing example with polio eradication , Tomori noted that polio eradication for instance is a leadership , politics, and social issue, as immunizing the Nigerian children is more than vaccines, but includes responsible political leadership, good governance accountability , social responsibility, community involvement with each and everyone having an important role to play.
He noted that thirteen years ago, 3 children were paralysed by polio on a daily basis in Nigeria, and argued further that while others are getting sumptuous returns on investment (ROI) in their countries, Nigeria is still wallowing in her investment on inequity and returns on immorality (ROI).
“10.5 children are out of school, 4.5 million children are under vaccinated, and Nigeria being the poverty capital of the world. In 2019, from January till date, in lassa fever Nigeria has accounted for 2217 cases and 122 deaths, measles 16284 cases and 102 deaths, cerebrospinal meningitis, 771 cases with 50 deaths, cholera 374 cases with 24 deaths, yellow fever 364 cases and monkey pox 6 cases with no death. Nigeria is the country with the highest number of underimmunised children in the world (4.5)million, home to the deepest inequality in immunisation, between geographic region, coverage in sokoto 3%, coverage in Lagos, 80%, between income quintiles(73% difference in coverage Between lowest and highest quintile and more.
Timori further explained that Nigeria is the country where the EFCC recovered from corrupt elements a total of 97.640 billion naira, hundreds of properties such as filling stations, jewelry, automobiles, etc add to the fact that 103 senators received 13.5million naira allowance per month amounting to (17.658 billion) with the estimated cost from above, cost of fully vaccinating a Nigerian child fully with all vaccines the country currently administer is 17,000naira.
“If 1 per cent of the looted money recovered by EFCC is correctly allocated, Nigeria would fully vaccinate 10,000 nigerian children and if the senators give up just one of their four year tenure allowance for the sake of our children, we can fully vaccinate 1,038,705.8 million Nigerian children. Money alone may buy all the vaccines needed, but we need more than money to immunise our children, we all need each and every one of us ( parents, healthcare workers, leaders, political, traditional, religious, community, academicians, professionals, etc to harnessing all these resources (talents, skills, ability, position, power etc to protect our community from epidemics,” he said.
The stressed that an epidemic free nation hinged on full immunisation depends on how well the resources are used in raising awareness about the importance of immunisation throughout life, demonstrating the health of children to the communities and the world, hence building on immunisation progress, while addressing gaps with increased investment.
Similarly speaking, Dr Ifeanyi Nsofor, CEO of EpiAfric said that immunization are very expensive because they are not cheap. But the bulk of the fund comes from donors.
According to him, transporting the vaccines for people to benefit from is very expensive, quite challenging and in the process there is all sorts of wastage and at the end of it all, it almost as if people are not being immunised.
“So there are different challenges with financing, with human resources, and at different levels. First of all, we need to appreciate the fact that we have a huge power problem in Nigeria most places don’t have uninterrupted power supply that means. We have to look for other ways of preservation like using the cold boxes. Ultimately all these things costs money because they are not cheap,”
He noted that the federal government needs to find a more innovative way of financing vaccines and a way to do this is through health insurance.
He explained that Immunising children is very important because it prevents epidemics and urged In the government and partners to understand that immunisation is not just about buying the vaccines but providing other commodities required, but most importantly the resources needed to transport the vaccines to the very remote area where they are needed.
Speaking on Vaccine Rejection, Elsie Ilori, speaking, a Deputy Director at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, said the elites are one of those that the health sector really need to work on in the process of vaccination, as they do not understand why they should immunise their children.
“When I had my child in the UK, she was not given the vaccine I had to request for it and it is an elite issue because most elites feel the disease is for the rural community and so why should they partake in it. so we need to target our messages, look at who we want to target our messages to let the content of the message be different from the way you would give it to someone in the rural area.
“Yet we might have that, no we might not also have it. The reason being that we are already trying to target and ensure that people are accepting immunisation, so that activity is ongoing within us in the country,”
She noted that America had this issue of outbreak because they relapsed in the process of immunisation, adding that Nigeria as a country have not relapsed in the trend of sensitising the people.
“America’s case is a lesson for us that we should not relax, but we should continue with our messages to the world that immunisation is key.
