The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), has said the agency is targeting Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria, and communities with low immunisation coverage for the purpose of this year’s African Vaccination Week (AVW).
The NPHCDA Executive Director, Dr. Ado Mohammad, who disclosed this at press conference on the 2016 Africa Vaccination week, on Monday in Abuja, said the goal of the AVW is to strengthen countries’ immunisation systems with the aim of reducing morbidity and mortality due to vaccine preventable diseases, which accounts for 40% of under 5 deaths.
Ado said “Vaccination remains the most cost effective way to ensuring disease prevention and eradication in any given society and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that children and all eligible persons are protected from the vaccine preventable diseases.”
The NPHCDA Director further said there has been reported cases of maternal and Under 5 mortality caused by vaccine preventable diseases in the many IDP Camps in Nigeria, adding that the agency has mapped out health outreach starting from 24th to 30th of April, in commemoration of the AVW week.
According to him, this will go a long way to reduce the death of the most vulnerable groups currently in IDPs before they go back to their homes.
He said: “Our target is to make sure that they are healthy while they are still in camp, we will ensure that children are given vaccines and the pregnant women among them get good antenatal care before their delivery.
“One can never imagine the trauma they face, being kept out of their home due to insurgency, on our part ensuring that they are healthy within the time they spend in that camp is what should be done, and we will device a means of reaching to them at regular basis, after the AVW.
“Our target is to vaccinate children and adults against vaccine preventable diseases, do medical consultations and treatment of minor illnesses, counselling, health talks, provision of free drugs and other non-medical consumables to Nigerians at IDP Camps.”
Speaking, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Country representative, Dr, Rui Gama Vas, in his goodwill message said the outreach for IDPs is a right effort to strengthen routine immunisation and prevent new infections from vaccine preventable diseases, like Polio which has been interrupted for the past nine months in Nigeria.
He said: “I am glad this is happening now, Nigeria has to keep the tempo, to prevent new infections, especially now that polio have been interrupted in the country, it is my wish and the wish of the WHO, that by July, Nigeria will record one year of polio interruption”
Vaz also commended the surveillance system in place to ensure that no new polio case is missed, as he called for more commitment from all stakeholders to ensure the common goal; to interrupt polio, in Nigeria is achieved.
