By Edoamaowo Udeme
The Minister of Health Isaac Adewole has lamented the slow progress of Nigeria on immunization when he said that the country stands to lose 4.6million children in the next 10 years if more efforts is not in place to strengthen it.
Adewole stated this yesterday in Abuja during a Sensitization Workshop on immunization organized by National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the Head of Civil Service of the Federation and Partners.
“We are not doing well with immunisation, only one out of four of our children receive full dose of the vaccines”
Adewole added that “We are supposed to be in addressing immunizations problems in the country. The fight is not only for the government. It it everybody’s fight, and urgent steps must be taken by all to ensure immunization of our children. Everybody must contribute his quota to ensure that all our children are immunized”.
“Parents must play important role by ensure that their children are immunized”.
Adewole said that the immunization vaccine is free and effective, wondering why most parents fail to take their children for vaccination.
While lamenting on the state of PHC’s in the country, Adewole said “most of the facilities are covered with bushes, no drugs and no adequate staff.
“We all need to come in to ensure the safety of our children. If we are serious about the plight of our children, we must own up the PHC’s at the local level and make them functional to address the current challenge that threatens the lives of our children”.
The World Health Organisation representative Dr Fiona Braka stressed the need to concentrate on hard to reach areas,
On his part, NPHDA boss, Faisal Shuaib said “The essence of the workshop was to enlighten civil servants to contribute their quota towards revamping the PHCs and to also pass the same message to people at the grassroots to do same”.
“Every civil servant is from a community so our aim is that you find out from your locality how the PHCs are faring, that explains our today‘s engagement”
“Our PHCs have been overtaken by sheep and goats instead of women and children
all Nigerians to be champions in this fight on immunization”.
“There must be urgent steps towards revitalizing the PHC’s across the country to stamp out the various challenges faced by children especially in the rural areas”
He added.
