Routine Immunization has Increased to 71%, Says FG

* NPHCDA: Response to vaccination impressive

Onyebuchi Ezigbo

The federal government has said that the country’s routine immunization coverage rate has now risen from 33 per cent to 71 per cent due to renewed massive sensitization campaign across the land.

In the same vein, the government said that the strategic COVID-19 vaccine roll out has witnessed the complete utilization of all available doses of vaccines, due to the support of traditional and religious leaders in the sensitization and mobilization of the communities for vaccination.

The Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, stated this at the third quarter meeting of the northern traditional leaders committee on primary health care delivery (NTLC) on Monday, at Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Abuja.

He described the response of Nigerians to the second phase rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination as impressive, adding that the agency has been receiving requests from states for additional supply of the vaccine doses.

Speaking on the current outbreak of diseases like Cholera, CVDPV2, and variant of polio virus in some parts of the country, Shuaib said that the preponderance of diseases was as a result of suboptimal responses to routine immunization services.

According to him, the federal government, through the NPHCDA and other stakeholders, has been working seriously to address the situation by ramping up immunization coverage.

“So since 2016, when we had a routine immunization coverage rate of 33 per cent, we have now increased it to about 71 per cent, more that double the routine immunization coverage.

“But we need to get up to 90 per cent before we can stop seeing this type of outbreak of diseases in the country. We are not there yet but the unprecedented increase in the routine immunization coverage currently happening in the country will help us achieve that target,” he said.

Shuaib maintained that Nigeria is free from wild polio virus, adding that the polio free certification is not under any threat.

He explained that there is a clear difference between the wild polio, which has been eradicated in Nigeria and most parts of Africa, and the current variant that has resurfaced.

He stated that the new polio virus variant normally shows up where there is poor environmental and water sanitation practice, as well as an absence of routine immunization coverage.

“This is distinct from the current outbreak, it is a different type of polio virus. It is a virus that exists where there is low routine immunization and women are not taking their children to hospitals for routine immunization services. So they are not taking their children to take vaccine jabs against diseases like measles, yellow fever and polio. Then you begin to see that the vaccine-driven virus mutate just like you see that happening with the COVID-19 virus. This is why you have the outbreak of polio in different parts of the country, about 121 cases.

“But working with the northern traditional leaders commitee on primary healthcare delivery, we have been able to mount adequate responses to make sure that the tools we are using will ensure that the outbreak stops.

“We hope that before the end of the rainy season, government will be able to carry out enough campaigns to make sure that we cover this. One other thing that is going to help us to ensure that we don’t witness series of disease outbreak again is the increase in routine immunization coverage,” he said.

The executive director said that traditional rulers played a leading role in the success rate so far achieved by helping to sensitize and talk to their people on the importance of patronizing routine immunization.

He said that traditional rulers and religious leaders had been very helpful in the campaign against the spread of disease outbreak in the country.

“I must say that your paternal guidance over the years has contributed immensely to the modest successes we have achieved thus far in primary healthcare.

“The first phase of our strategic COVID-19 vaccine rollout witnessed complete utilization of all available doses of vaccines, due to your support in the sensitization and mobilization of the community for vaccination.

“The second phase, which is currently ongoing, would also require our traditional leaders to champion the cause towards vaccination and ensure Nigeria returns to normal living.

“We encourage you to use your influence to disseminate the right information and dispel any misinformation on the vaccines,” he said.

In his remarks, the Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Samaila Muhammadu Mera, who represented the Sultan of Sokoto, said that almost all the senior traditional rulers in the country have taken the COVID-19 vaccine jab as a show of trust on the efficacy of the vaccines and in order to convince their subjects to embrace the vaccination.