WHO Urges Nigeria to Commit 80% Health Sector Budget to PHC

•FG to begin vaccination against cervical cancer in November

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

In order to improve the country’s healthcare services, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has asked federal and state governments to devote 80 per cent of their budget towards development and sustenance of Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs).

The global health organisation lamented that the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on routine immunisation services had driven up the number of zero-dose and under-immunised children.

It stated that the number of under-immunised children have risen by 16 per cent between 2019 and 2021, and was pushing the cumulative total (2019–2021) to around 33 million. This, it stated represents nearly half the global estimate.

Speaking at a media briefing with journalists in Abuja, as part of ongoing African Vaccination Week, the WHO Country Director, Dr. Walter Molumbo, expressed concern over the problem posed by poor access to affordable healthcare services in the country, which he said was inflicting economic hardship on the poor masses.

According to Molumbo, a recent study carried out on impact malaria in the country showed that most households spend over 70 per cent of their income to access medical treatment.

“This is an aspect in which both the government and the private sector need to work together to change that narrative, the government budget should devote more proportion to the health sector and a proportion of that increase should also go to the Primary Healthcare services,” he said.

Molumbo said at present, PHCs get just about 20 per cent of the health budget in the country, while the rest go to the secondary and tertiary healthcare institutions.

“We need to have discussions around this and to make sure that when the budget is released that 80 per cent of the funds get allocated to healthcare centres in the communities,” he said. Molumbo also said government should change the narrative to ensure that vaccines when procured are made to reach these local communities

Molumbo, also spoke on the declining rate of vaccination among children in Nigeria.

He projected that an estimated 33 million children would need to be vaccinated in Africa between 2023 and 2025 to put the continent back on track to achieve the 2030 global immunisation goals that include reducing morbidity and mortality from vaccine-preventable diseases.

In Nigeria, he said WHO had estimated in 2019 to 2021, that 6.2million children were on zero dose; a consequence of the negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic.

Molumbo said reaching these children would require renewed and intensified efforts by government and partners. 

“To galvanise the commitments required, WHO conducted a high-level event during the African Union Summit in February 2023, where African heads of state endorsed a declaration aimed at revamping and scaling up routine immunisation across the continent and implementing urgent measures to address persistent bottlenecks in vaccine and health care delivery systems,” he said.

WHO scribe added that in order to realise the declaration, this year’s African Vaccination Week and World Immunisation Week, is being held from 24–30 April, with the theme “The Big Catch-Up” has been announced.

According to Molumbo, “This is a global push by WHO and partners to intensify efforts to reach children who missed vaccinations, as well as to restore and strengthen routine immunisation programmes.

“The Big Catch Up” is actually a year-long campaign aiming to reverse the serious setbacks in routine immunisation.”

Molumbo, also spoke of the efforts to reduce the havoc caused by cancer, saying WHO and federal government have concluded arrangements to introduce the Human Papillomavirus vaccine for treatment of cervical cancer in the country.

According to the WHO Director, the administering of vaccines against cervical cancer would commence latest by November this year.

He said Nigerians would begin to see the impact of the HPV vaccination in eradicating cancer scourge in the years ahead because the campaign is currently targeting the adolescent population.

“The plan to introduce malaria vaccine in routine immunisation, and Human Papillomavirus Vaccine (HPV) in 2023 and 2024 are commendable as it aligns with establishing a life-course platform for immunisation for optimum dividend from vaccination,” he said.

The WHO director urge the media to communicate more with caregivers to ensure they take children for routine immunisation services at the nearest health facility.

He said the media should also create awareness to enable children who missed their immunisation schedules to go to the nearest health facility to be assessed and vaccinated appropriately.