By Tunji Saliu
The United Nation’s Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has solicited the support of the media towards ensuring an improved routine immunization coverage in Nigeria.
At a media engagement in Lagos, resource persons highlighted the importance of ensuring that their children completed routine immunization to prevent childhood diseases and deaths.
The 2-day media dialogue focuses on ways to achieve the health SDGs for over two million children who are at the risk of death in the country.
The Programme was organised by the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
Welcoming participants, the ACSM Immunization Focal Person at the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, Mr Shoboyejo Ayoade, highlighted the importance of the engagement, saying it would lead to an increase in the number of children that would be immunised.
He appealed to the participants to help sensitise the populace in the six South West States and Edo to achieve the target.
In her video recorded remarks, the Chief Field Officer, UNICEF Nigeria, Celine Lafaucriere, said that Nigeria had over 2.3 million zero doze children and that they were at the risk of coming down with childhood diseases and possibly, death.
She reiterated the commitment of UNICEF to ensuring reduction in number of children that had not received immunisation.
In his presentation, the Assistant Director, Immunisation Coordinator in the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, Dr Adebayo Adeniyi, gave an overview of the Childhood Immunisation Landscape,
He highlighted the statistics of the last routine immunization across South West States and some of the challenges that should be fixed.
Dr Adeniji categorized the challenges under three sub-headings:
(1) ACCESS BARRIERS:
a. Limited Health Care Infrastructure
b. Transportation Difficulties
c. Financial Constraints
(2) SOCIAL FACTORS:
a. Misinformation
b. Cultural Beliefs
c. Hesitancy
(3) SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES:
a. Vaccine Stockouts
b. Chain Disruptions
c. Insufficient Trainings for Personnel.
He suggested a holistic approach to tackling the listed challenges so that improved Immunisation coverage could be recorded.
On the SIA campaign starting in Lagos on October 19 to November 2, in Lagos State, Dr Adeniji said 63,981 personnel would be engaged, out of which over 14 thousand would be health care professionals.
The second presentation focused on the Role of UNICEF in strengthening Childhood Immunisation in Nigeria, where Mrs Aderonke Akinola-Adewole identified the Right to Life as the most important Child Right.
She listed UNICEF’s roles in ensuring the Right through Vaccine availability, Vaccine security and logistics, Health system strengthening as well as Social and behavior change.
At the end of the engagement, media workers are expected to go back to their states and use their platforms to educate residents on the importance of vaccination to prevent childhood health issues and deaths.
