As the world celebrates the International Day of the Girl Child, a Civil Society Organization, Community Health and Research Initiative (CHR), has challenged the Federal Government on the need for the girl child to have access important vaccines.
In a statement issued Tuesday, CHR urged the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole to ensure that girls in hard to reach areas are not left behind in all the immunization programmes in the country.
The exclusion of the girl child in immunisation programmes has been blamed for the 70% of incidences of Cervical Cancer, which claims the lives of an estimated 266,000 women and girls a year.
According to the Multi Indicator Coverage Survey/National Immunisation Coverage Survey (MICS/NICS) report 2016 conducted in Nigeria, only 23% of children (aged 12 โ 23 months) are fully vaccinated with another 37% partially vaccinated. Some of the states in Northern Nigeria were reporting below 20% immunization coverage.
Chairman, CHR Board of Trustees, Dr Aminu Magashi Garba, urged the government to ensure that no girl is left behind in accessing important such as the Tetanus, Rubella and the Human Papiloma Virus (HPV) Vaccine, which offers protection against Cervical Cancer.
The statement reads in part: โAs the world celebrates the International Day of the Girl Child, CHR is joining other organizations in over ten countries in Africa in launching the 33 Days to Power Up Immunization Campaign. The campaign seeks to hold governments accountable for the multiple promises they have made to support Immunization. In 2016, the continent marked significant achievements of interrupting the near elimination of Meningococcal Meningitis A epidemic and the significant reduction in disease burden and child mortality due to Measles.
โWe recognize the efforts that have gone into reaching the current levels by the Nigerian government, however, much more need to be done if we are to reach the 2020 goals that our government has set in the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) of reaching 90% immunization coverage nationally and 80% in every state by 2020.
โWe call on the Nigerian government to prioritise increase in the national and states budget to finance immunization and ensure timely and efficient releases of immunization funds.
In January 2017, African Heads of States endorsed the Addis Declaration on Immunisation, (ADI) through which they acknowledged that despite their endorsement of the Global Vaccine Action Plan, they are largely off track. The ADI reinforces their commitment at the highest level of political engagement.
