Nigeria’s 57 percent falls short of the GVAP’s 90 percent coverage goal.
Nigeria has been consistently committed to the objectives of the Global Vaccine Action Plan to reduce child killer diseases by ensuring that at least, 90 percent of children under the age of 5 immunized with every important and available vaccine. However, due to inefficiency in the immunization coverage, Nigeria has fallen short of the set coverage goal, having immunized only 57 percent of children over the last 5 years. According to the 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), as well as the National Immunization Coverage Survey (NICS), which has also been jointly released by the Nigerian Government, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other partners.
In a survey by Good Health Weekly, there was an indication that numerous mothers and caregivers still had their reservations about immunizations and as a result, MICS reported that only 36 percent of children between the ages of 12 to 23 months have received all mandated vaccines. Though the importance of prompt immunization is evidently realized, mothers and caregivers still restrict these children from receiving complete vaccines. In the case of 1 year old Abdul Abdul he has received just one vaccine which was given to him immediately after his birth at one of Lagos’ healthcare centers. His mother claimed that he had reacted differently to the BCG dose which discouraged her from letting him receive other immunizations.
Children not immunized exposed to risk of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Many children in Nigeria are also victims of similar situations, receiving one or two vaccines, or nothing at all. Thus, many children have been exposed to the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases as a result of these unfounded claims for avoiding immunization. The MICS report also indicated the gaps in vaccination routines. The research showed that 64 percent of children between the age of 12 to 23 months did not receive all immunizations. 46 percent did not receive all doses, 18 percent did not receive any vaccine and 30 percent thought the child was fully immunized with 6 precent unknown.
Though, the benefits of immunizations are actualized on prompt receiving of all the recommended doses, reports indicate that only 36 percent of children aged between 12-23 months have received every mandated vaccination in Nigeria. The reports further indicated that more children in the southern parts of Nigeria received full vaccinations, compared to the northern parts.
Enugu & Ebonyi lead among states with most vaccinated children.
The report stated that immunization coverage has varied across the country and thus, an urgent need for immense improvement in most of the states. According to this report, Enugu and Ebonyi have had the estimated leads among vaccinated children. These two states are reported to have the highest percentage of Penta3 coverage which is above the 90 percent goal. It is important to note that the coverage of Penta3 is noticeably higher in the south than the north. Reports disclosed that children from poor families, with mothers below 25 years old or a low level of education are less likely to receive the three doses of Pentavalent vaccines.
According to the NICS 2021 research, child health cards are pivotal for evaluating the immunization status and only 56% of children were able to provide a child health card. States with low immunization rates also had low card availability. The research again found that 3 out of the 6 zones were huge gaps in the zero-dose prevalence between the rural and urban households, with children in rural communities likely to receive no dose. Also, in 4 of 6 zones, significant differences exist among one or more categories of maternal education with less education mothers likely to have children with zero immunization.
Most deaths of children traced back to lack of immunization.
Mr. Claes Johansson, UNICEF’s Chief of Monitoring for Results, who was responsible for tracing most deaths of children back to their lack of immunization, noted that though the 2021 Immunization Report indicated an improvement from 44 percent to 57 percent, vaccination has a significant impact on the child mortality rate and women education plays an important role in child vaccination. He stated that the benefits of these vaccines are only realized after all recommended doses have been promptly taken and urged the government to take this action as a priority.
Related Link
UNICEF: Website
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Imagine we are still falling short of immunization coverage in this era despite all sensitization going on around,some citizenry would just not immunize their children,but the government should keep doing more
Lots need to be done concerning sensitive and awareness of immunization in the country because it seems the awareness has reduce.
This children’s need to be immunized awareness should be made more so they can know the important of it, the government should continue putting more effort to ensure the children are immunized
Immunization coverage across the country should be done. It will bring about improvement in most of the states.
It is now imperative for healthcare sectors and the government (both state and federal) should create awareness about the importance of children immunization.You keep informing the nursing mothers continually until they have allowed the child to receive all the immunization dosage.
Nigeria has failed to reach its immunization target of 95% during the past five years because of inefficiencies in the country’s vaccine coverage.
These false arguments against vaccination have put many children at danger of contracting diseases that could have been prevented with the shots.
Reports show that just 36% of Nigerian children between the ages of 12 and 23 have got all required vaccinations. This is a problem because the advantages of vaccines only become apparent when all doses are given on time.
As a country, Nigeria has been dedicated to the goals of the Global Vaccine Action Plan to increase immunization rates among children under the age of five and so decrease the prevalence of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Due to inefficiency in the vaccine coverage, Nigeria has fallen short of the established coverage goal, having immunized a low amount of children over the course of the previous five years. This is due to the fact that the immunization coverage has been inefficient.
Majority of mothers still hesitate to take their kids for immunization despite its importance due to ignorance. Parents should avoid vaccine-preventable diseases for their kids.
There was evidence that a number of moms and other caregivers still had their misgivings regarding vaccines, and it is unfortunate that they continue to hold those reservations.
In addition, the reports suggested that a greater number of children in the southern sections of Nigeria received all of their immunizations, in comparison to the children in the northern parts of the country.
According to the survey, vaccination rates differ across the country, and as a result, there is an immediate and pressing need for significant improvements in the majority of the states.
Imagine that, in this day and age, there is still a shortage of vaccine coverage despite all of the sensitization that is going on around us. Some of the populace might simply choose not to immunize their children, but the government should keep doing more.
More effort should be made to raise public awareness about the need of immunization for children, and the government should keep pushing to make sure all children get their shots.
Immunization is very important for children. We need to join hand togather to create awareness to parent especially mothers to always make their children available during immunization
Government should be endeavor to make the immunization available in all states that are affected.
This calls for constant awareness creation by the health sector and the government. These will inform parents and caregivers of how important immunization is to children.
Many children in Nigeria are also victims of similar situations, receiving one or two vaccines, or nothing at all.
We need to immunize our children more. Immunization of children very early in their life we help them to develop strong defensive mechanism against diseases.