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Tag: immunisation

  • Ambode urges parents to immunise children against polio

    Ambode urges parents to immunise children against polio

    The Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode Friday urged parents to ensure children less than five years are immunised against polio.

    Ambode, who spoke at the Flag-off of the Round One of the National Immunisation plus Day at Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area (LGA), said parents, should use the window of opportunity available to them between Friday and Tuesday to get their children immunised.

    Ambode, represented by his Special Adviser on Public Health, Dr Olufemi Onanuga said children from zero to 59 months, that is under-five, should receive two drops of oral polio vaccine (OPV) irrespective of the time they have taken the vaccine.

    He urged the community and religious leaders to ensure children under-five avail themselves of the opportunity.

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) Lagos State co-ordinator, Dr Sunday Abidoye said the vaccine is a must take for children within the stipulated age range.

    He said Nigeria has been declared polio-free by the WHO since 2014, adding that the immunisation programme was necessary to prevent the disease.

  • Immunisation challenges in Kwara, by civil society

    Immunisation challenges in Kwara, by civil society

    Some civil society groups have explained why the yearly immunisation programme is not as successful as it should be in Kwara State.

    The organisations which included the Federation of Muslim Women’s Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN), Association of Civil Society in Malaria, Immunisation and Nutrition (ACOMIN) and Civil Society for HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (CiSHAN), said poor sensitisation and inadequate logistics were affecting the exercise.

    The organisations also said they would partner with the state on health delivery especially to women and children. Some of their members have made advocacy visits to the state ministries of Health and Women Affairs.

    They were led by Hajia Nimata Labaika of FOMWAN and Olatubosun Femi of ACOMIN.

    They said their goals included: a functional civil society platform that engages in immunisation and health system-strengthening process in Nigeria; improving knowledge and skills of members to engage in discussion around HSS-strengthening for immunisation; improving public-private-partnership with governments and development partners on immunisation issues and increase community participation in immunisation activities through education and communication to create demand for vacancies

    ACOMIN Secretary, Adewoye Olusesan said poor sensitisation and logistics were some of the problems bedeviling the yearly immunisation exercise in the state.

    He said, “The platform observed from interactions with field workers that the use of bus to convey immunisation officers from one settlement to the other is not very effective in other settlements as compared to motorcycles. Many had to wait endlessly for vehicles after their work in one settlement. This can be avoided if officers use motorcycles in certain settlements in addition to buses.

     

  • Mothers laud Lions Club on measles immunisation

    Mothers in Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos have hailed members of Lions Club International District 404B1, Nigeria for partnering with the Federal Government to immunise children against measles.

    Speaking with The Nation at the beginning of a five-day immunisation held at the Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Health Centre, the mothers said they were grateful to the club for making the exercise free.

    Oyinye Ngobili, a mother of a two-year old girl, said: “I heard about this immunisation and because I have not taken her for one before, I decided to bring her here. I say thank you because it is an opportunity. I could remember the first time they told me this in a private hospital and I was supposed to pay N9,000 for it. I am really glad.”

    For Mrs Uche Ibe, she got the information from her three-year old son’s school and decided to take him for the immunisation.

    She said: “He came home from school with a letter about the immunisation so, when I saw it would span through January 28 and February 1, so I decided to come. I thank them for the kind gesture to see that our children are safely immunised against deadly diseases.”

    A mother of two, Mrs Felix Juliet got the information from her friend and took her children for the immunisation.

    District 404B1 Governor, Lion Idowu Omolola Anobili said the aim of the immunisation was to prevent childhood deaths from childhood diseases especially from measles and to ensure a society of healthy children.

    Anobili said: “At the end of this exercise, we would have saved a lot of children because we realise that even if they don’t die, some children go blind as a result of this. We even have gifts to attract these children so that when they get back home and others see it, they would be encouraged to come out. “

  • Board tasks religious leaders on polio immunisation

    Board tasks religious leaders on polio immunisation

    The Kano State Primary Health Care Management Board has urged religious leaders to support government efforts in achieving routine immunisation in the state.

    The Executive Secretary of the board, Dr Muhammad Nasir, made the call in a statement on Thursday in Kano after the Forum of Religious Focal Persons on Immunisation visited him.

    It said that the call was necessary to enable government to provide qualitative healthcare services to the citizenry.

    It attributed the success recorded in polio immunisation in the state to the strong commitment of religious leaders in the state.

    “The board is proud to be in collaboration with Imams to woo the public to come to terms with the reality on the importance of immunisation.

    “The recent delisting of Nigeria from the list of polio endemic countries by the United Nations was a great feat attained with an immense contribution of our religious leaders,’’ it said.

    The statement therefore urged them to continue to enlighten parents on the dangers associated with noncompliance to immunisation.

    It said that the board has adopted the policy of inclusiveness in approach to issues of polio eradication to give stakeholders opportunity to complement government effort in the fight against the disease.

    The statement also quoted the Chairman of the forum and Chief Imam of Hotoro Mosque, Sheikh Hadi Ibrahim, pledging to support the board to achieve the desired result in polio immunisation in the state.

     

  • Polio: EU commits N4b to immunisation in Nigeria

    Polio: EU commits N4b to immunisation in Nigeria

    THE European Union (EU) has spent N4 billion on the country’s immunisation programme for this year, it was learnt yesterday.

    The support came under the EU Support to Immunisation Governance in Nigeria (EU-SIGN).

    Training, Contracting Adviser and Procurement Expert for the EU-SIGN, Aminata Sidibe, explained that the support was part of EU’s determination to ensure that Nigeria overcome the disease and obtain the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) certification as a polio-free nation by 2017.

    Sidibe, who spoke at the Bi-annual Review Meeting of 23 states and the FCT, which benefited from the fund in Abuja, said: “The EU is committing €150 million into the programme. For this specific programme estimate, N4.3 billion has been committed.”

    Anna McAthur, director, CONSEIL SANTE, an organisation through which the EU funds the SIGN programme in Nigeria, said: “The EU-SIGN actually came in at real good time for Nigeria because we’ve just got to the elimination of polio, and we are working towards eradication of polio. Government has set up state primary health care agencies and has advisory body in each state.

    “It is good for Nigeria to strengthen its primary health care agencies and strengthen its immunisation, which will help to make polio eradication in Nigeria a success.”

    The Director of Department of Logistics and Health Commodities at the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Mustapha Zubair Mahmud, said the nation must maintain the de-listing for the next two years to enable it get certification.

    “We must do all we can to maintain a polio-free country up to 2017, so that we are certified free of polio,” he said.

    Focal Person for the EU-SIGN in Nigeria Dr. Adamu Dawud said the highlight of the meeting was to re-emphasise on the nation’s routine immunisation.

    The WHO recently delisted Nigeria from the three polio-endemic nations. The others remaining are Afghanistan and Pakistan.

  • Immunisation ‘ll ward off diseases, says expert

    Immunisation ‘ll ward off diseases, says expert

    Parents have been asked to build the immune system of their children to keep away infections.

    A paediatrician, Dr  Chinenye Ananti said immunisation could boost children’s immunity and protect them against diseases.

    Mothers, she said, should ensure that their children take all childhood killer diseases vaccines in order to stay healthy.

    The diseases, according to her  are preventable.

    She identified diseases that affect children under-five and infants to include diarrhoea, measles, tetanus, pertussis, fever, poliomyelitis, pneumonia, diphtheria, chicken pox and small pox. Others are Down’s syndrome, influenza, leukemia, mumps, rickets, tuberculosis and whooping cough, adding that, they can be threats to children’s lives.

    The paediatrician said Nigeria is at the verge of getting rid of some of the diseases, which include polio, stressing that immunisation has been proven to be a good way to getting rid of them.”

    Ananti said both Federal and state governments have been organising immunisation awareness programmes to educate the public on the importance of immunisation.

    “They also provided vaccines to hospitals and nurses have been mobilised to do a door-to-door immunisation on children and infants under-five. They distributed mosquito-treated nets to expectant mothers for free at hospitals and creation of health care centres,” she said.

    Dr Ananti said diseases can be prevented by keeping good hygiene.

    “Besides, environmental sanitation should be done regularly to ensure cleanliness,” she said.

    Nigeria, she said, can reduce the disturbing figures of infant mortality rate by creating awareness on immunisation and the various types of vaccines needed to keep children healthy.

    The government, she said, should make all the vaccines available, adding that some of them are quite expensive.

    “But they should be made available to the public. Also, ACT drugs should be made accessible,” she said.

  • ‘To be polio-free, more immunisation needed’

    ‘To be polio-free, more immunisation needed’

    VICTORY beckons, but more vigilance is needed.

    That was the message of experts on polio, of which the country could soon be declared free.

    “A great deal rests in the hands of Nigeria’s new government,” said the Independent Monitoring Board of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

    “With strong commitment, there is good potential that Nigeria will eradicate polio within their terms, and will be able to celebrate a great Nigerian victory.

    “But if the polio programme loses momentum or support, the country could be responsible not only for polio coming back to Nigeria, but elsewhere in Africa too.”

    Nigeria needs to be resilient and committed to the campaign to kick the polio virus out of the country for good, the experts said.

    “Nigeria’s success in polio eradication under the present governments should be hinged on stronger routine immunisation using the polio infrastructure, and improved surveillance, and any case of paralysis should be reported and investigated. The present administration needs to commit  to making funds available for ensuring that polio vaccine is available at all times.

    “State governments ought to take immunisation as a priority and commit their own counterpart funds, so also should local governments.

    “This is also the case for routine immunisation where a vast majority of the primary healthcare centres have little or no presence of health workers. Electricity and other facilities for maintaining vaccines within the cold chain are near absent, or with the limited quantity only supplied by donors and development partners like UNICEF, WHO, among others. Non-compliance rate and international border synchronisation activities are more challenging. That is why Nigeria needs to build resilience to stay polio-free until 2017, and then it can be certified.”

    Journalists in Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states have also called for adequate budgetary allocations for the Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) in the country.

    The journalists made the call at the end of a two-day media capacity building meeting on strategies to interrupt the transmission of the wild polio virus.

    The meeting, organised by UNICEF, held at Dankani Hotel Sokoto, with no fewer than 44 journalists attending.

    Again, immunisation was the focus, with a view to saving more children.

    The journalists called for accountability and stronger commitment by policymakers and other stakeholders.

    They also urged media practitioners and their organisations to continue to utilise their positions in the society to strengthen and sustain the polio eradication and other child-survival programmes.

    The resolution also urged journalists to build their skills to enhance networking through social media and other emerging technologies to boost their news reports and programmes.

    On their part, they pledged to be more passionate and professional in the campaign to eradicate the polio virus from the country.

    UNICEF Chief Field officer, Mohammed Muhiuddin said that for Nigeria to combat the disease, the media needs to be actively involved.

    The MD, Kaduna State Media Corporation (KSMC) Mrs Tammy  advised journalists to play active roles in the fight against the polio virus.

  • Immunisation alarm

    Immunisation alarm

    It is a cause for concern that as many as 2.7m Nigerian kids were not vaccinated against measles

    For an alarmingly great number of newborn babies in the country, the undesirable possibility of measles infection is not only real but also high, considering the latest statistics released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in separate publications. According to the new data, published in the WHO Weekly Epidemiological Report and the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2.7 million Nigerian children were not vaccinated against measles at nine months of age last year. Sadly, this is contrary to the WHO recommendation, and the reports said such failure increased the risk of serious health challenges like pneumonia, diarrhoea, encephalitis and blindness, among the unimmunised children.

    More worrying is the truth that measles could lead to death in extreme cases. Indeed, the WHO report said: “The vast majority of deaths from measles occur in developing countries.” Furthermore, “over 70 per cent of estimated global measles death” in 2013 reportedly occurred in six countries, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Democratic Republic of Congo. These countries, in that order, were identified in connection with more than 60 per cent of the estimated 21.5 million unimmunised children last year.

    It is tragic that the figures showed a rise in the number of deaths from measles, from an estimated 122,000 in 2012 to 145,700 in 2013, meaning that the target of a 95 per cent reduction in measles-related deaths between 2000 and 2015 is unlikely to be achieved. It is instructive that Dr. Peter Strebel of the WHO Department of Immunisation, Vaccines, and Biologicals, was quoted as saying: “Poor progress in increasing measles vaccination coverage has resulted in large outbreaks of this highly contagious disease, throwing the 2015 elimination targets off-track.”

    Lamentably, the disease is said to have received a boost in 2013 largely as a result of outbreaks in China, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria. It may be recalled that historically low vaccination levels in northern Nigeria reportedly sank lower from early 2000 following the controversy about the motive for polio vaccines, which radical Islamic preachers claimed was a Western move to make Muslims infertile and infect them with HIV.  It is not surprising that this situation reportedly led to a significant increase in cases of measles and the related deaths of hundreds of children in the region.

    The wisdom in vaccination may be better appreciated against the background of the description of measles as “an airborne disease that is spread through respiration (contact with fluids from an infected person’s nose and mouth, either directly or through aerosol transmission via coughing or sneezing), and is highly contagious—90% of people without immunity sharing living space with an infected person will catch it.”

    So, it is easy to understand that unvaccinated populations, especially vulnerable babies, are at risk from the disease. In this context, the importance of public enlightenment and awareness cannot be overemphasised; and anti-scientific sentiments, particularly of ethnic and religious colouration, should not be accommodated. It goes without saying that effective advancements in medical science can bring about the elimination of the disease, and that is the point of the WHO target.

    Nigeria cannot afford to be seen as a negative factor in the otherwise progressive march towards the elimination of measles. In addition to promptly addressing the education aspect, the country must tackle other problematic issues, particularly its health system; and conflict and population displacement, which are also said to have interfered with vaccination efforts.

    Perhaps the last word should come from Dr. Strebel who said: “Countries urgently need to prioritise maintaining and improving immunisation coverage. Failure to reverse this alarming trend could jeopardise the momentum generated by a decade of achievements in reducing measles mortality.” We couldn’t agree more.

  • Ogun scores high on routine immunisation

    OGUN State has recorded 100 per cent coverage on routine immunisation, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Olaokun Soyinka has said.

    According to him, this is an achievement compared to the previous years.

    Soyinka, who spoke to reporters at a  public sensitisation programme in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, said the figure surpassed the national target of 85 per cent set by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) with development partners.

    He said a coverage of 171,359, which represented 100 per cent, was recorded last year while 149,048 (82 per cent) was recorded in 2012 on routine immunisation (RI) for children under one month and 11 months.

    He said: “This analysis shows that tremendous improvement has been made in the state to free children from vaccine preventable diseases, especially poliomyelitis that causes paralysis.”

    The state, Soyinka said, was able to achieve the feat due to the commitment and support of the government towards the provision of qualitative healthcare.

    He praised the support of partners, the state’s social mobilisation activities, community participation; outreach services, and improve coordinated team work with border countries and states.

    “The last case of polio virus in the state was in 2009 and since then we have been free,” he said.

    The commissioner said 2, 195, 314 children under five were immunised during supplementary immunisation last year against wild polio virus (WPV).

    Soyinka said: “At present, the state had successfully immunised 2,113,504 under-five children in the first quarter of this year while it would strengthen the routine and supplementary immunisation activities to capture children  who might have missed out in the exercise.”

  • Driving immunisation in Yobe

    Driving immunisation in Yobe

    Life and property are not the only things lost to the Boko Haram insurgency in the North. Healthcare delivery is also terribly affected.

    Take immunisation, for instance. Before the insurgency, it was difficult getting families to release their children for the all-important inoculation to save them from such deadly diseases as polio. But with the onslaught of the insurgents, the immunisation outreach got worse.

    Thankfully, some organisations, many of which foreign are persistent in driving the medical safety programme through. Donor agencies like the Department of International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom and the Government of Norway through PRRINN-MNCH especially in Yobe State since 2007 is no doubt helping the state towards achieving Goals 4 and 5 of the Millennium Development Goals aimed at improving the lives of mothers and children.

    Recently, however, some of the donor agencies had to reappraise their commitment to the state vis-à-vis the safety of their staff.

    While the  state Social Mobilisation Committee on Polio was fighting  to overcome the campaign against  non-compliance in some communities of  Gujba, Damaturu, Tarmuwa, Bursari, Gaidam,  Potiskum, Yunusari, Karasuwa and  Fune local government areas of the state, the spate of the attacks has even made it more difficult for such campaigns to be carried out.

    Against this backdrop, the state government has devised other means of overcoming immunisation coverage in the state.

    The state Commissioner for Health Mohammed Bello Kawuwa while briefing reporters in Damaturu boasted that the state has achieved 96 per cent coverage in routine immunisation in the state, through the engagement of members of local communities in areas with daunting security challenges.

    He noted that the ministry of health now recruits and trains people living in those communities to deliver the needed services for the state.

    Dr. Bello Kawuwa said, “Knowing that polio is now localised, the ministry has organised a special mobilisation team, a health promotion team which embarks on free immunisation campaign and when the  immunisers come around, this special mobilisation team will now follow so that any case of non compliance are reported.

    ”Members of the team include Ulamas and community leaders who go from house to house to sensitize householders on the importance of the immunization and how safe the drugs are and though we get dots of non-compliance, people usually get satisfied with explanations they get from the special mobilizers Routine immunization is targeted at polio and other vaccine preventable diseases and Yobe state government is up and doing and when recently we reviewed the success so far, we were able to confirm that we have reached 96% of the target group which is a good coverage. So the security challenges have not much affected government’s effort towards ensuring that the routine immunization programme goes successfully”, he said.

    He added, “When we compared the trend now and what it used to be before some years past during the hot season we discovered that record of spinal meningitis infection has drastically reduced or even disappeared in our medical record,” he said.

    Dr. Bello Kawuwa said the state government is employing all measures to tackle the recurring cases of polio in some parts of the state which is due to security challenges

    He also noted that constant attempt to eradicate the disease is due largely to technical and operational problems as a result of the insecurity situation in the state with the result that some children in certain local governments are being missed either by the immunisation personnel or by the deliberate refusal of their parents to present them for immunisation.

    The commissioner emphasized that the emergency declaration on the health sector by Gov. Ibrahim Gaidam is has yielded tremendous result  with the  renovation  and equipping the 12 General Hospitals and eight Comprehensive Health Centres across the state, in addition to engaging specialized personnel in all hospitals in the state.

    “Government established a Primary Health Care Management Board to boost primary health care delivery, improve the 20 General Hospitals and Comprehensive Health Centres for the secondary health care sector.

    “We are in partnership with specialists from University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and Federal Medical Centre, Nguru, in Yobe, among others, to provide specialised manpower to the hospitals, and to make health care delivery accessible and affordable in the state. The ministry has also developed a human resources document, with short and long term plans, to address the personnel needs of health institutions in the state,’’ he said.

    Dr. Bello Kawuwa said government had been procuring N20 million worth of drugs and consumables monthly, to sustain the ‘’Free Drugs and Medical Treatment for Pregnant Women and Children’’ program of the state government.

    “It is gratifying that the Health Insurance Program  in six Hospitals and other deliberate measures adopted by government, had grossly reduced maternal mortality and child morbidity in the state,’’ he  said.

    The Nation checks gather that communities in Gujba and Gulani are still inaccessible due to the high spate of Boko Haram attacks in the area. Only God knows how many children in those areas are suffering from the polio virus.