Abuja, 04 May 2017 - As part of activities to mark the 2017 Africa Vaccination Week (AVW), the National Primary Health Care Development (NPHCDA), in collaboration with World Health Organization (WHO), organized a Breakfast meeting with donors and partners to mobilize resources for immunization financing as Nigeria graduates from Gavi funding support.

NPHCDA’s Executive Director (ED), Dr Faisal Shuaib while unveiling his agency’s plans to development partners and donors at the breakfast meeting revealed that the agency has three strategic areas of focus which include improving routine immunization (RI) coverage to 85%, ending polio in Nigeria and strengthening primary healthcare (PHC).

As one of the building blocks for PHC, the ED who recently assumed office, explained that progress on vaccine supply in RI will be consolidated and government will ensure vaccines stock-out at facility level is eliminated. On the polio eradication front, Dr Shuaib disclosed that Nigeria is committed to ending polio once and for all. Furthermore he said, “Government will ensure all the gains made in polio eradication are sustained more especially improving the engagement of governors and traditional leaders”.

Dr Shuaib revealed at the core of his plan for PHC revitalization will be operationalisation of a new plan dubbed ‘Integrated Community Health Influencer and Promoters (ICHIP)’ programme. The plan envisages that the poor and vulnerable will be availed PHC services in a minimum of 10,000 communities; with immunization and maternal child services as the cornerstone of the project.

The ED is optimistic that ICHIP will upgrade PHC infrastructure to ensure most basic clinical services are provided to mothers and children, increase demand for health services through education, promotion and incentives as well as integrate vertical programmes into primary care.

Endorsing what he termed “brilliant plan”, the Minister of Health Professor Isaac Adewole assured the ED of his support to facilitate actualization of NPHCDA’s strategic focus on PHC revitalization. He consequently encouraged donors and development partners to key into the presented NPHCDA agenda.

During the meeting, WHO country Representative (WR) Dr Wondimagegnehu Alemu explained the origin and idea behind the commemoration of AVW. According to him, the 2017 breakfast meeting was timely, with Nigeria on the verge of Gavi graduation. With the planned introduction of new vaccines such as Human papilloma virus (HPV), Rotavirus and Meningitis vaccines in Nigeria’s immunization schedule, the WR called on all donors and development partners’ stakeholders to use the Breakfast meeting to “deliberate on ways Nigeria can be further assisted to meet its commitment to immunisation programmes”.

One of the objectives of AVW is to increase immunization access to areas that are underserved and with low population immunity.   Kogi, a state with one of the lowest RI coverage was chosen for national commemoration of the AVW. Three LGAs with lowest immunization coverage include Ankpa, Igalamela and Dekina were selected to provide immunization services in the hard to reach and vulnerable populations. Preliminary data  from three LGAs indicate that  12, 208 children received Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV), 2,683 Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) while 10,607 got Pentavalent vaccines; 10,788 received Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV), Measles 8,643, Yellow fever 18,379 and 3,255 pregnant women vaccinated with tetanus toxoid vaccines.

Activities to mark the AVW week were coordinated and supported by the WHO country and state offices in Nigeria.

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For more information, please contact:

Technical contacts:

Dr Richard Banda; Tel: +234 803 888 8269; Email: bandari [at] who.int" target="_blank">  bandari [at] who.int Dr Rachel Seruyange; Tel: +234 810 221 0092; Email:  seruyanger [at] who.int" target="_blank">   seruyanger [at] who.int
Media contacts:

Ms  Charity Warigon; Tel: +234 810 221 0093; Email: warigonc [at] who.int" target="_blank"> warigonc [at] who.int
Ms  Kulchumi Hammanyero; Tel: +234 803 632 7360; Email:  hammanyerok [at] who.int" target="_blank">  hammanyerok [at] who.int
 

Below:

01 Health workers at the 2017 AVW flag off ceremony held in Kogi state

02 The ED delivering NPHCDA’s strategic focus during breakfast meeting

03 L-R ED of NPHCDA Dr Faisal Shuaib, Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole and WR Dr Wondimagegnehu Alemu