UNICEF: Immunisation Powerful Tool to End Preventable Child Deaths

Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has taken the message of immunisation to the grassroots in troubled Borno State, insisting that immunisation remains one of the most powerful tools to end preventable child deaths.

The UNICEF Nigeria’s Emergency Manager for Borno Field Office Gillian Walker gave the message to spouses of local government authorities, secretaries and voluntary community workers in the troubled state during an orientation session on Wednesday.

The orientation was aimed at providing the women with information on the benefits of immunisation, to encourage mothers to attend ante-natal clinics and to emphasise the importance of taking children to the clinic for routine immunisation.

Walker said: “I urge each and everyone of you to be a vaccine champion. Advocate for vaccines and encourage your families, neighbours, and friends to ensure that their vaccinations are up to date. Every child in the North-east must have access to vaccines because vaccines work. Vaccines save lives.”

The UNICEF Emergency Manager said almost one third of deaths among children under the age of five are preventable by vaccine.

She said UNICEF and its partners are working to ensure that the lives of all children are successfully protected with vaccines, adding that: “If immunisation is not prioritised, the most marginalised children will not get vaccines, which could mean the difference between life and death.”

UNICEF also appreciated the role of the state government in ensuring the availability of vaccines for all children including those affected by the conflict.

Representing the Commissioner for Health, Ministerial Secretary, Dr. Ibrahim Kida, said the orientation was timely and targets an important audience in the community.

He said: “You have a key role to play at grassroots level to encourage your communities to get all the required vaccinations. We specifically need to focus on the non-compliant households to give them the necessary push to access vaccines.”

The participants, from all the local councils, were asked to support the awareness creation for uptake of immunisation services and other health interventions to sustain and support Borno’s polio eradication efforts.

Borno State has not reported a single case of wild polio virus since August 2016, which is a great milestone towards achieving the goal of polio eradication in Nigeria. This engagement with women is one way of increasing uptake of the polio vaccine across the councils.