The Nation Newspaper

Tag: immunisation

  • Why you mustn’t overlook immunisation

    Why you mustn’t overlook immunisation

    Staying healthy is a priority for all of us and receiving routine immunizations is one of the simplest ways to prevent diseases. Missing or overlooking vaccines could result not only in serious medical conditions, but also extreme medical bills and not being able to care for your family.

    Immunization is highly effective and is estimated to prevent 2.5 million deaths every year worldwide. Yet 1 in 5 children do not receive them. A lack of knowledge about the effectiveness of the vaccines is a key reason why many do not receive them.

    In efforts to raise awareness, African countries have united to celebrate African Vaccination Week from the 22nd to 27th of April. Vaccination has greatly reduced the burden of infectious diseases and is now considered to be a basic human right.

    The scaling up of immunization coverage is vital to achieving the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that were set by the United Nations. Immunizations can significantly reduce child mortality rates but it also supports the goals of attaining universal primary school education and reducing extreme poverty and hunger.

    The particularly high child mortality rate in the African region is widely recognized as one of the greatest challenges in achieving the MDGs. Children in sub-Saharan Africa are over 16 times more likely to die before the age of five than children in more developed regions.

    According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “children are at greater risk of dying before age five if they are born in rural areas, poor households, or to a mother denied basic education. Malnourished children, particularly those with severe acute malnutrition, have a higher risk of death from common childhood illness such as diarrhoea, pneumonia, and malaria.”

    The African Vaccination Week’s theme ‘Vaccination – a shared responsibility’ highlights how everybody has a role to play in fighting the 25 vaccine-preventable diseases. Vaccine-preventable diseases include but are not limited to hepatitis B, polio, whooping cough, measles, tetanus, diphtheria, influenza, pneumonia, hepatitis and cervical cancers.

    Hepatitis is a significant concern in the African region and most people become infected during childhood. In highly affected areas, hepatitis B is most commonly spread from mother-to-child at birth or from person-to-person in early childhood. Up to 90 per cent of infants infected during their first year of life will develop chronic infections that can lead to scarring of the liver and liver cancer.

    Hepatitis B vaccine is known to be 95 per cent effective in preventing infection and its chronic consequences, and was the first vaccine against a major human cancer. The WHO recommends that all infants receive the hepatitis B vaccine as soon as possible after birth, preferably within 24 hours.

    Measles is another significant vaccine-preventable disease that causes 122 000 deaths globally – about 330 deaths every day or 14 deaths every hour.

    Since 2000, more than 1 billion children in high-risk countries have been vaccinated against measles through mass vaccination campaigns. In 2012, the WHO reports that about 84 per cent of children have received one dose of measles vaccine by their first birthday – up from 72 per cent in 2000.

    Despite some success, it’s not time to become complacent. The diseases we can vaccinate against will return if we stop vaccination programmes. This year’s African Vaccination Week is an opportunity to help reach the high-risk remainder. Failure to vaccinate this group can leave all infants, children, adolescents and adults unnecessarily vulnerable.

    Take the following steps to reduce your risk:

    • Talk with a healthcare professional about which vaccines are right for you;
    • Get vaccinated;
    • Keep track of your vaccinations and make sure you’re up-to-date;
    • Encourage your friends and family to get vaccinated.

    During African Vaccination Week, use hashtag #RUuptodate and tweet @WHO if you have any questions about vaccination.

    Dr Couillard is an international health columnist that works in collaboration with the World Health Organization’s goals of disease prevention and control. Views do not necessarily reflect endorsement.

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  • Lions Club leads immunisation campaign

    Lions Club leads immunisation campaign

    Over 500 children in Adiabo community in Calabar Municipality Local Government Area of Cross River State have benefited from an immunisation programme of the Federal Ministry of Health, with the Lions Club District 404 driving the integrated measles campaign.

    The campaign was carried out with a view to encourage mothers to immunise their children who are from nine months to five years.

    The Regional Chairperson of Region 5 in Calabar, Mr. Ene Cobham, said the campaign on measles was one of the objectives of the club to mobilise children to be immunised against measles.

    “We are doing this project simultaneously in all parts of the country; mobilising children to be immunised against measles and telling mothers that immunisation is free,” he said.

    According to him, the Lions Club does the mobilisation and the sensitisation, while the state Ministry of Health takes charge of the immunisation.

    “We have given out gifts worth N500, 000 to children in order to entice them to turn out for this exercise. The club is working in synergy with the Ministry of Health to reduce child mortality in the state,” he said.

    Another member of the club and Chairperson for Region 6, Chief Magistrate Catherine Ephraim, said that the club was assisting the Ministry of Health to bring out children to be immunised against measles.

    Ephraim further said that the door-to-door campaign was the major strategy used by the club to educate mothers to bring out their children for immunisation.

    “Members of the Lion Club have always been advocates for children and vulnerable populations. Measles is one of the most contagious yet preventable diseases in the world,” she said.

    Mrs. Bassey Edem, the Chief Community Health Officer, thanked the club for the initiative.

    She commended the strategy used by the club in educating mothers to bring out their children for immunisation.

  • Monarchs pledge commitment to immunisation

    Monarchs pledge commitment to immunisation

    Some traditional leaders in Kaduna State have promised to adopt various means, including the use of town criers and religious leaders, to ensure the success of ongoing vaccination against meningitis.

    The District Head of Kasuwan Magani, Kajuru Local Government Area,Alhaji Gambo Yero gave the pledge in an interview with journalists in Kaduna.

    He noted that the local chiefs,had in the past made valuable contributions in mobilising people for various immunisation exercises, assuring that they would not waver in their support.

    Yero said religious leaders had been actively involved in sensitising and mobilising their followers to avail themselves for immunisation, adding that their support was vital to the successful conduct of the exercise.

    “Their messages are well accepted at the grassroots, so we will work with them for the success of this vaccination.”

    Yero said that town criers would also be used to send out vital messages to people throughout the 12-day exercise.

    The district head pledged to strictly monitor the conduct of the immunisation against meningitis, in order to provide timely intervention where necessary.

    He praised the government for facilitating the health programme, noting that it would ensure that the state was free from all killer diseases.

    Also, Mr Joe Camban, the District Head of Ma’aro, said local chiefs in the area had enlightened the residents on the importance of the exercise.

    He expressed satisfaction with the programme and promised to continue the campaign to ensure its success.

     

  • Polio: Fighting a tough battle

    Polio: Fighting a tough battle

    As preparations begin for the next sub-national Immunisation Plus’ Days (IPDs) using bivalent oral polio vaccine, Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha takes a look at why the vaccine preventable polio is still endemic in Nigeria.

    Nigeria is one of the three countries that is still polio-endemic, it is in this unenviable company with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Of all the three, Nigeria is the reservoir of wild polio virus, it is the only country with ongoing transmission of all three serotypes- wild poliovirus type 1, wild poliovirus type 3 and circulating vaccine- desired polio type 2. The Northern states are the main source of polio infections.

    In 2009, operational improvements in these northern states led to a 90 per cent decline in cases of wild poliovirus type 1 and a 50 per cent decline in overall cases compared with 2008.

    As of last week, Polio Global Eradication Initiative, a monitoring organisation of polio situation in Nigeria, reported that two new cases of wild polio virus 1 have been found in Kano and Taraba states, bringing the total number of wild polio cases for this year to 18. The case from Kano is the most recent case in the country.

    According to medical experts, as long as a single child remains infected, children in all countries are at risk of contracting polio. Failure to eradicate polio from these last remaining strongholds could result in as many as 200, 000 new cases every year within 10 years. Polio has no cure but can be prevented.

    In most countries, the global effort has expanded capacities to tackle other infectious diseases by building effective surveillance and immunization systems.

    A delicate balance

    Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. It invades the nervous system, and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. Initial symptoms are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck and pain in the limbs. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one in 200 infections lead to irreversible paralysis (usually in the legs). Among those paralysed, five per cent to 10 per cent die when their breathing muscles become immobilised.

    According to WHO, globally, Polio cases have decreased by over 99 per cent since 1988, from an estimated 350, 000 cases to 223 reported cases in 2012. The reduction is the result of the global effort to eradicate the disease.

    Nigeria is fighting to end the endemic. However, there are sundry factors militating against the actualisation of this hope.

    The polio eradication programme continue to miss too many children in key geographic areas and population groups due to a mixture of operational and social factors. In 2012, going by data supplied by Polio Global Eradication Initiative, 61 children were paralyzed by polio in the first half of 2012, as opposed to 24 at the same time in 2011. In 2011, more than 95 per cent of all cases occurred in the eight persistently endemic northern states of Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara.

    A formerly strong primary health care system in northern Nigeria has been weakened over many years due to incessant polio outbreaks and resistant of a segment of the populace over the safety of the vaccination. This has led to serious gap in the administration of the vaccine and subsequent disruption of campaigns as well as the killing of vaccinators. Now routine immunisation services are either no longer available or irregular; coupled with limited resources for health services and gaps in vaccine storage and distribution.

    According to a nongovernmental organisation, PATH, Northern Nigeria has one of the lowest rates of immunisation coverage in the world. In many parts of the north, barely 10 percent of children receive all of their routine vaccines. Coverage rates for the vaccine against tetanus among women are equally low.

    Misunderstood scheme

    The north is rife with misperception on the effects of the contents of the vaccine on health, especially reproduction. Campaigns have been on in the north that vaccination leads to reduction of productivity, this has been countered at all levels but the impact is still there.

    But in the face of sundry factors including insecurity, especially of Boko Haram, ridding the country of the polio virus can remain a mirage. Conflicts and insecurity do weaken public health systems.

    For instance, attacks on health workers in Kano State have robbed vulnerable populations of basic life-saving health interventions. In the face of these, Nigeria continues to pose a significant risk to surrounding countries. In 2011, polio viruses originating from Nigeria were detected in five countries on West and Central Africa. Despite dozens of vaccination campaigns over the past years, according to Polio Global Eradication Initiative, no more than 65 percent of children have received four or more Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) doses in Borno, Kano, Sokoto and Yobe states.

    Viruses with genetic evidence of long periods of circulation without detection are still being found, indicating surveillance gaps. Sub national engagement of political leadership remains patchy. Future benefits of polio eradication are immense. Once polio is eradicated, the world can celebrate the delivery of a major global public good that will benefit all, no matter where they live. According to WHO, Economic modelling has found that the eradication of polio would save at least US$ 40 to 50 billion over the next 20 years, mostly in low-income countries. Most importantly, success will mean that no child will ever again suffer the terrible effects of lifelong polio-paralysis.

     

     

  • FCT sets up advisory committee on immunisation

    FCT sets up advisory committee on immunisation

    The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has inaugurated the Immunisation Technical Advisory Committee to boost programming and delivery in the territory.

    Inaugurating the committee, the Secretary, FCT Health & Human Services Secretariat Dr. Demola Onakomaiya said more than 10 million children in low and middle income countries die before their fifth birthdays and most die because they do not access effective intervention that would combat common and preventable illnesses.

    He said routine and supplementary immunisation programming and service delivery activities have been hampered in the recent past with coverage rates for routine antigens falling below 90% and confirmed polio cases after being free of the disease for about two years.

    Demola added that observations and statistics have brought to the fore, the clinical and urgent need to implore and maintain high vaccination coverage rates to counter the disproportionate burden from vaccine preventable diseases.

    The Secretary further disclosed that the committee is to serve as a technical resource, providing guidance to national and FCT policymakers and programme managers to enable them to make evidence-based policy and programme decisions.

    The committee’s term of reference is to lead programme organisation and tracking of implementation of the FCT immunisation plus days and provide advice on strategic directions as applicable, consult and collaborate with stakeholders and other immunisation-related committees and departments.

    Others include monitoring and providing advice on communication strategies and materials for informing providers and communities about values and benefits of immunisation.

    Responding on behalf of the committee members, the Director, Primary Health Care Area Service Secretariat, Dr. Mohammed Sani thanked the Secretary for setting up the Committee, adding that the timing of the inauguration was apt.

    He assured the Secretary that the Committee was determined to ensure that immunisation services in the FCT was in tune with the aspirations of the Health and Human Services Secretariat and designed to meet international best practices.

     

  • Firm kicks off national immunisation plus days

    In accordance with its vision to promote the health and wellbeing of the Nigerian child, MultiPro Enterprises Limited, makers of Hypo Super Bleach, has once again partnered with the Lagos State Ministry of Health in this year’s Polio Immunisation Plus Days campaign which was flagged off at Ipaja Mini Stadium, Ayobo-Ipaja Local Council Development Area (LCDA) recently.

    The National Immunisation Plus Days (NIPDs) campaign, which has been carried out in Nigeria since 2006, serves as one of the core strategies for improving immunisation activities in Nigeria. This would be done by combining the usage of the fixed posts, house-to-house and transit teams for the delivery of multiple antigens (e.g. BCG, OPV, Pentavalent , Measles, Yellow Fever, HBV, etc.) on the days set aside for mass campaign. The immunisation exercise would take place from 2nd to 5th March, 2013.

    Speaking at the flag-off ceremony, Senior Sales Manager, MultiPro Enterprises Limited, Mr Jude Nzeata, said the National Immunisation Plus Days is an opportunity for Hypo to fulfil its social responsibility to the society. He also emphasised the fact that ensuring the good health and hygiene of the people is one of the core concerns of the organisation.

    “The National Immunisation Plus Days provides us with the platform to reach millions of children who are in dire need of a proper health care services. In line with this we have made millions of Hypo Bleach sachets available for distribution both here at the flag off ceremony and at every Primary Health Centre within the 20 LGAs and 37 LCDAs through the course of the programme and also delivering proper counsel about the importance of immunisation and hygiene” he added.

     

     

     

    Nzeata continued in his remarks by appealing to parents especially mothers to take their wards between the ages of 0 to 5 years to the Primary Health Care Centres and Clinics in the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDA) so that they can be immunised against polio and other diseases.

    He further revealed that the decision to partner with the Lagos State Ministry of Health was another step in the fulfillment of Hypo’s continued desire to contribute to the realization of a clean and healthy nation which started with the introduction of affordable bleach for all and also affirmed that this would definitely not be the last partnership between the company and the Lagos State Ministry of Health because a lot still has to be done to further improve the level of health care services in the country.

    Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Health, the Deputy Director and Head of Department, Family Health and Nutrition, Dr. Folashade Oludara commended Hypo for supporting the National Immunisation Plus Days program. She said the Ministry has enjoyed their support for other programs and hopes the partnership continues.

    “Once again, Hypo has proved to be a very reliable partner as they have not only helped to produce the flyers and banners for the five day Immunisation exercise but have also donated millions of Hypo products to be given to mothers who bring their child for immunisation in all the locations where the officials are present” she said