Nigerian children at risk of disability and death cos of failure to immunise them
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
A high number of Nigerian children are at risk of death and disability as only 36 per cent of those aged 12-23 months receive all recommended vaccines that prevent diseases, according to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
UNICEF warned immunisation coverage in Nigeria is below the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP), which exposes a huge number of children in the country to preventable diseases and deaths.
UNICEF Health Specialist (Port Harcourt Field Office) Eghe Abe sounded the alarm at a multi-zonal media dialogue on Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2021 in Abuja.
He disclosed figures from recent surveys in Nigeria show 64 per cent of children aged 12-23 months do not receive all routine immunisations.
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Immunisation coverage varies across zones
Abe said immunisation coverage varies across zones with the North on lowest rates of vaccination, per The Guardian.
“From the survey, only 32 per cent of children received all doses of vaccine in Northcentral. In the Northeast, only 24 per cent of children received all doses; while in the Northwest, only 25 per cent of children received all the doses.
“From the Southeast, 57 per cent of children received all doses of vaccine. The South-South recorded 49 per cent coverage, while in the Southwest, only 50 per cent of children received all the doses,” he added.
The coverage figure is not good enough for children, Abe stressed, and advocated more needs to be done by governments and all stakeholders to save Nigerian kids.
Parents have to get them fully vaccinated to avert childhood killer diseases preventable with vaccines, he counselled.