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Tag: immunisation

  • EU backs immunisation in 23 states, FCT with N3.8b

    EU backs immunisation in 23 states, FCT with N3.8b

    The European Union (EU) has provided an additional N3.8 billion to support the Federal Government’s immunisation programme in 23 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    This is as EU urged states to make adequate allocation in the 2018 budget to cover immunisation programme.

    Speaking yesterday at the commissioning and handing of EU-Sign works and supplies at the Primary Health Care Centre, GUI, Abuja, EU Ambassador to Nigeria and Economic Community of west African States (ECOWAS), Mr. Ketil Karlsen, said the fund was also to strengthen primary healthcare under its seven-year project, Support to Immunisation Governance in Nigeria (EU-SIGN)  (2011-2018) initiative.

    The project is in collaboration  with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).
    Before the establishment of the Gui NPHCDA, which was commissioned yesterday, the resident of the community goes as far as 20 kilometer to get healthcare.

    Karlsen said: “The amount was used to fund the procurement of vehicles and solar refrigerators as well as the construction and renovation of health facilities and cold stores in 23 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory.”

    Beyond the financial assistance, he said EU “is also concerned about the governance and management of health service delivery and the utilisation of available budgets in a transparent and accountable manner”.

    He said even if the EU is to provide assistance in this area, “but the main responsibility lies with the Federal, state and local government authorities”.

    On the need for states to make adequate budget for  immunisation, the envoy said: “It is, therefore, particularly important for the states and local governments to make adequate and predictable allocations in their annual budgets for recurrent immunisation costs for vaccine distribution, outreaches, regular power supply to the health facilities  as well as staffing these facilities with qualified personnel.”

    Executive Director of  NPHCDA Dr. Faisal Shuaib asked for continuous support from the EU, stressing that the country’s health system is not yet there.

    “I wish to draw the attention of the EU to the fact that Nigeria health system, especially the routine immunisation system is not there yet. With the recent outcome of the MICS and survey 2016, we still have a long way to go, especially now that the country faces economic challenges. Your further support for the continuous improvement of this system will come in handy,” he said.

    The 23 states are: Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Cross River, Ebonyi, Edo, FCT, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Ogun, Osu , Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara.

     

     

  • PDP: immunisation scare in Rivers mere speculation

    PDP: immunisation scare in Rivers mere speculation

    The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP)  in Rivers State, yesterday, appealed to parents and guardians to release their children and wards back to school to continue with their learning.

    The call followed the Army immunisation scare, which created panic among parents, and disrupted school activities in public and private schools.

    Parents trooped to nursery, primary and secondary schools to withdraw their children to save them from receiving alleged killer monkey pox vaccine.

    Some schools shut down learning earlier than normal to allow parents, who were insistent on withdrawing their wards, to take them home.

    But the state PDP Publicity Secretary, Samuel Nwanosike, in a statement yesterday, appealed to parents not to break the learning of their wards over mere speculations.

    Nwanosike, who said the rumour was the handiwork of mischief makers, blamed the confusion on parents and teachers for mismanaging the information that led to the panic.

    He reassured parents and children that henceforth information shall be filtered properly before actions are taken.

    “We are saying that the rumour in Rivers State did not emanate from the state government. The APC should present a good opposition to the government of the state.

    “We are calling on the people of the state to disregard the unfortunate rumour peddled against the Army, it is false and obviously the handiwork of mischief makers, who mean no good for the people of the state.

    “We are appealing to parents and guardians to release their children and wards to go back to school and continue with their academic activities, even as the military in the country has made a public statement that they are not involved in any school vaccination and has no plan to carry out anything of such in schools other than planned distribution of school materials to schools, which is yet to commence.”

    Some members of the APC in the state, who defected to the PDP, were received by the party in a short ceremony in Port Harcourt.

    The defectors, who said they are National Road Transport Workers members, noted that they are joining the PDP because of the good governance  they identified in the government.

  • Obaseki flags off immunisation project, rewards LGAs with N10m

    Obaseki flags off immunisation project, rewards LGAs with N10m

    The Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, on Wednesday, flagged off the 2017 routine immunisation intensification project in Egor Local Government Area of the state.

    As an expression of his administration’s high premium on the immunisation project, Obaseki rewarded three local government areas with N10million, for their extensive coverage of people during the immunisation programme from January to September this year.

    He declared that the cash award would be given yearly to encourage local government councils to take the immunisation programme to every doorstep in all the local governments of the state, and assured that more vehicles would be provided to improve surveillance of immunisation activities.

    “This is the third immunisation programme that I am flagging off as the governor of Edo State and we want all children under ages 0-5 years in the state to be immunised against deadly diseases such as Polio. We want health workers to go out and immunise children across the various local government councils in the state. The need for mothers to immunise their children should always top the agenda during social gatherings,” Obaseki said.

    Akoko Edo Local Government Area was given N5 million for clinching the first position with 85.5 percent immunisation coverage. Estako Central LGA was adjudged the second-best council and got N3 million while Esan Central was given N2 million for taking the third position.

    In her remarks, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Coordinator, Edo State, Mrs Faith Ireye, commended the governor for initiating the yearly cash award to the best performing LGAs in routine immunisation and said that it would spur every local council and health workers to put in their best during immunisation programme.

    Ireye said that Edo State routine immunisation coverage has been adjudged best in the country, with no variation between its administrative data and the outcome of the National Converge Survey conducted in 2016.

    “There is a huge reduction in vaccine-preventable disease rate in the state: Edo had been able to achieve the measles elimination target of less than one measles case per 1, 000,000 population,” she said.

    The WHO coordinator added that the objective of the routine immunisation intensification project was to improve the current immunisation coverage of 72 percent by 20 percent and reduce the number of unimmunised children in the state of about (26, 968) by 30 percent.

    The high point of the event was when the Edo governor, his wife, Mrs Betsy Obaseki; the Deputy Governor, Hon. Philip Shaibu; his wife, Mrs Maryam Shiabu; and Secretary to the Edo State Government, Mr Osarodion Ogie, made phone calls urging mothers, who were yet to complete immunisation schedules for their wards, to take advantage of the routine programme to do so.

    The governor also made other members of his cabinet including himself to adopt one LGA each to monitor the immunisation coverage.

  • Immunisation: CSOs laud Nigeria on improved, quality data

    Immunisation: CSOs laud Nigeria on improved, quality data

    The Federal Government has been commended for improved and quality data on immunisation estimates nationwide.

    The nationwide data was reported in the recently released 2016 World Health Organisation (WHO) United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) Estimates of Nationwide Immunisation Coverage (WUENIC).

    Reacting to the report, Community Health and Research Initiative (CHR) and Track Health commended Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, for improved transparency in reporting for the first time an improved and quality data on Immunisation estimates nationwide.

    It said: “Although Nigeria was among the few countries reported in the 2016 estimates to have less than 50 percent coverage with DPT3.

    “This development also underpins the transparent commitment of the government in reporting accurate data which will tremendously boost effort to improve immunization services nationwide and also help to step-up efforts in the states where coverage was at its lowest level.”

    Chair of CHR Board of Trustees, Dr Aminu Magashi Garba, said: “We are committed as civil societies to support government at federal and sub-national levels through strategic advocacy to political actors and policy makers to maximize the gains of having correct and transparent data to finance immunization using government budgets and promote timely releases of finances leading to the change we all hope to see.”

    Co-chair of Track Health, Mrs. Chika Offor, said: “For every $1 invested in Immunisation in Africa, $41 is gained in economic and social benefits.

    “This means investing in Immunization in Nigeria to our teeming children is the answer to national sustainable growth and development.”

    Deputy Chair House of Representative Committee on Health, Muhammad Usman, said: “We, the legislators, will strengthen our oversight function so that government will improve immunization and revitalize primary health care services within the shortest possible time.

  • Immunisation: Kaduna procures 149 solar-powered cold-chains

    The Kaduna State Government said it has procured 147 solar powered cold-chain refrigerators to be distributed across the Primary Healthcare Centers in the state with three zonal back-ups located in Zaria, Kaduna and Kafachan, to enhance immunisation, while tackling the six child-killer diseases.

    Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Paul Manya Dogo disclosed this while addressing a team of Federation of Muslim Women’s Association in Nigeria (FOMWAN) and Partnership For Advocacy in Child and Family Health Project (PACFah) led by the Team Leader, Hajiya Badiyya Sae’ed, who were on an advocacy visit to his office.

    The commissioner said two other mobile cold chain stores are slated for Ikara and Kachia to cover the gap noticed and boost immunisation activities in the state.

    Dr. Dogo explained further that, the state government has fully implemented Primary Healthcare Under one Roof, adding that the state Primary Health Care Development Agency has been instructed to put up a request for release of funds for family planning and immunisation activities, for quick approval.

    He said the state immunisation task force headed by the deputy governor is in force and meets every month. He also offered to include a representative of the coalition in the meeting.

    “Kaduna state now has a robust immunisation program; we calculated the cold chain gap, so we purchased 144 solar powered refrigerator and they have been deployed to the 255 primary health care (PHC) centres. We have put three additional zonal walk-in cold rooms to fill in the gaps for effective and efficient routine vaccination.

    “Close to 1, 000 directly-funded primary health centres now offer ?routine immunisation with outreach services to their host communities. The polio eradication initiative has been sustained and the state has maintained a zero polio status since November, 2012,” he said.

    He added that, “For improved health outcome, government is committed to building a resilient health commodities? supply chain management system.”

    The Team Leader, Hajiya Baddiya said they are on the visit to seek Kaduna State government’s support on the full implementation of nine pillars of the PHC under one roof, allocation and timely release of funds for family planning and immunisation activities in the state.

    “Our advocacy requests for which we are soliciting your support are; timely release and efficient usage of fund for the adoption and use of amoxicilin dispersible tablet and zinc-low osmolarity oral rehydration salt (Zinc-Lo-Ors) co- pack as first line treatment for childhood pneumonia and diarrhea respectively. Support the creation of dedicated budget lines for the procurement of amoxicilin DT and  Zinc/Lo-Ors,” she said.

  • Polio: Kano commences 2017 immunisation today

    HE Kano State Government says it will commence the 2017 polio immunisation across the 44 local government areas in the state on Saturday. The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Kabir Getso, said this on Friday in Kano during an interactive session with some development partners in preparations for the campaign against polio in the state. According to him, the interactive session will assist towards achieving the desired results on the four-day campaign against the disease. Getso said despite the fact that the state has not recorded any case of polio for the past 33 months, the state government would not relent in its efforts to prevent further outbreaks. He described such success as a major achievement by the State Government. “In the next three months, we would be celebrating three years without polio in Kano State. “If not for the four cases recorded in Borno State, Nigeria would have been satisfied polio free,” according to the commissioner. He expressed the commitment of the state government towards ensuring that the country became polio free through collaboration with international and home partners. “The Kano state government has provided adequate funds to make sure that the campaign against polio in the state is successful,’’ he said.

  • Ganduje launches polio immunisation

    Ganduje launches polio immunisation

    Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje yesterday immunised six children to launch the October round of the National Immunisation Exercise against polio in Rano Local Government.

    Ganduje also openly demonstrated hand-washing as part of activities to mark this year’s United Nations’ Hand Washing Day.

    He said the routine exercise was to ensure that 100 per cent of children, equivalent to over 3.2 million target population for polio immunisation in the state, were adequately captured to control spread of the virus.

    The governor hailed monarchs and other stakeholders for collaborating with health workers toward ensuring that children were immunised, noting that there are no cases of resistance in recent times.

    Commissioner for Health Dr Kabiru Ibrahim Getso said the exercise would last for four days, adding that enough vaccines has been provided and more workers recruited to make the exercise a success.

    Emir of Kano, Malam Muhammad Sanusi II, who was represented by the District Head of Ajingi, Alhaji Wada Aliyu, said the Emirate Council and other stakeholders were concerned about the permanent effect of disability caused by the polio virus.

    He, therefore, directed traditional leaders to enforce compliance by ensuring that people turnout in their wards massively for the exercise.

  • Paediatrician urges regular immunisation exercise

    Paediatrician urges regular immunisation exercise

    Dr Emmanuel Azu, Consultant Paediatrian at the Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH), Abakaliki, on Tuesday urged nursing mothers to ensure regular immunisation of their newborns against child-killer diseases.

    Azu told the newsmen in Abakaliki that regular immunisation of children from zero to one year was essential to build their immunity and insulate them from the deadly child-killer diseases.

    According to him, routine vaccination by nursing mothers is essential to prevent infant mortality as well as ensure healthy growth and development of the newborn child.

    He said that some preventable diseases that affect the child including polio, diarrhoea and hepatitis, among others, could be prevented through regular immunisation.

    “The reduction or the near elimination of incidences of polio in Nigeria and other child-killer diseases is made possible through the regular immunisation campaigns.

    “Also regular immunisation has put down the rate of child mortality as well as ensured healthy growth and development of the child.

    “Nursing mothers should take advantage of the free immunisation exercises to ensure that their newborns are regularly immunised until they are a year old,” Azu said.

    The physician said that immunisation was the right of the child but regretted that culture, religion and ignorance had made many nursing mothers to deny their newborns this right.

    He called on the media and other relevant stakeholders to intensify the sensitisation campaigns aimed at educating especially the rural women on the dangers of not taking their newborns to approved hospitals for regular immunisation.

    “I think what is needed now is for relevant stakeholders including the media to intensity awareness campaigns on the dangers of not taking children within the regular immunisation age to be immunized against the six child-killer diseases.

    “The future of the child is better secured when everything that will threaten his health, growth and development is nipped in the bud,” Azu said.

  • EU trains counterparts to access immunisation fund

    To rid the country of children killer diseases, the European Union Support to Immunisation Governance in Nigeria (EU SIGN) has trained its counterparts, such as health workers and accounting officers in the country to access its fund.

    EU SIGN Training, Contracting Advisor/ Procurement Expert, Technical Assistance Team, Aminata Sidibe, assured that the fund was available, but most states did not know how to get it.

    Sidibe, who spoke during the overview and guide for zonal training on the follow-up programme estimates (PEs) financial procedure in Lagos, said 23 states and Abuja were on the list to access the fund.

    She underscored the need for the workshop, stressing that states counterparts’ teams now understood the financial procedures of European Union (EU) projects, especially on spending and documentations (financial prudence). The workshop, she said, were held in Kano, Jos, Calabar and Lagos.

    According to her, N4.3 billion was released by the EU for the operation programme estimate two (OPE II).

    She said N3.7 billion was allocated for equipment and infrastructure, while the remaining N0.6 billion was assigned for other technical activities and logistics.

    Participants, she urged, should study the programme estimate (PE) to know how to write their fund request effectively.

    “The follow up training for the participants was to expose them more to the European Development Fund (EDF) rules and regulations for better management of the on-going PE fund and proper utilisation and consumption of available resources for the planned activities,” she said.

    Immunisation Expert, EU SIGN, Mr James Attah said Nigeria along with its partners, have done so well in routine immunisation as there were no cases of wild polio virus in more than 24 months.

    He said the introduction of new vaccines, such as pneumococcal, and pentavalent, among others, since 2012, have yielded dividend.

    “With this in place, Nigeria is doing very well in preventive healthcare because there are logistics and human resources requirement for immunisation,” he said.

    He said the placement of health workers should not be left to the partners or donors as it is the job of the governments at the three tiers.

    “Health workers should be everywhere so that resources by partners are used appropriately,” he said.

    Attah said the EU procured 777 direct drive solar refrigerators, which were distributed among 23 focal states and Abuja. “These are supposed to be distributed to healthcare centres in villages where there are no national grid. So, the EU is making impact in this regard,” he said.

    He added: “EU programme is supporting states in the areas of routine immunisation, cold store construction and renovations and manpower development.”

  • Polio: Lagos targets 4.5 million children for free immunisation

    Polio: Lagos targets 4.5 million children for free immunisation

    The Lagos State Government Tuesday said at least 4.5 million children will benefit from the free polio immunisation.

    State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, represented by the Special Adviser on Primary Healthcare, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga disclosed this at the flag off ceremony of the February 2016 National Immunization Plus Days (NIPDs) held at Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area.

    According to him, the National Immunization Plus  Days (NIPDs) campaign will involve House-to-House, Transit and Fixed Post teams while children at homes, markets, churches, mosques, major car parks and social event venues would be targeted.

    He noted that the state government will mount 752 fixed posts, 2,189 house-to-house and 1,712 transit teams with hours of operations spanning between 8am-2pm daily.

    The governor who reiterated the desire of the present administration to protect and enhance the health and well being of all children in the state emphasised that the immunization is free, effective and safe with little gifts as incentives for immunized children.

    Ambode enjoined parents and caregivers to take advantage of the campaign to boost the immunity of their children by immunizing their wards at government designated centers across the state.

    The Governor said his administration has been involved in the training of health workers at the State, Local and Ward levels to build their capacities as well as collaborating with International and Non-Governmental Organisations such as WHO, Rotary International, CHAI, JICA, Save-the-Children International and UNICEF to augment the creation of the needed awareness at the community level.

    He added that a coordinated media campaign strategy to sensitize members of the public on the importance and safety of polio immunization has been embarked upon, saying that “We have also contracted state technical facilitators and independent monitors to enable them provide technical assistance and supervisory support to those implementing throughout the campaign period.”

    Ambode revealed that Lagos State has taken giant stride in eradicating the deadly disease from the state since April 2009, making it a seven year success story.

    While underscoring the importance of various interventions by the state in the past which had made it possible to eradicate the deadly disease from the state since April 2009, Ambode recalled that the success recorded in 2015 in increasing the immunity of children was as a result of the improved quality of Supplemental Immunization Activities (SIAs) as well as other interventions such as the Strengthening of Routine Immunization Services.

    He revealed that the state intervened through aggressive drive towards the removal of out-of-stock syndrome and improved outreach services to reach under-served communities, strengthening of Local and International border immunization activities between Lagos, Ogun and Republic of Benin.

    Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Primary Healthcare Board, Dr. Ibironke Shodeinde, who represented the Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary Healthcare, appealed to parents to exploit the opportunity of the free, effective and safe campaign to immunize their children against the dreaded polio disease.

    She said that all eligible children will take two drops of the Vaccine with concurrent marking of the left little finger for confirmation of having taken the vaccine.