In spite of the impressive figures, Nigeria still has very basic problems with expanding immunization coverage
Immunization is no doubt one of the very important public health interventions that constitute a cost-effective strategy to reduce both the morbidity and mortality associated with infectious diseases. Immunization is among the highly successful and affordable health interventions, saving an estimated two to three million lives a year.
Globally, impressive progress has been made in improving child survival. From 1990 to 2016, the number of under-five deaths has decreased by half. Child deaths from leading infectious disease have declined rapidly, with immunization playing a critical role.
Some of the key benefits of immunization include the good health and survival of children. Another benefit is that immunization saves cost largely by reducing incidence of disease occurrence that could warrant frequent visits to the hospital.
Immunization coverage is a health output, the ultimate effect of which is a reduction in disease incidence. Strengthening surveillance systems as part of improvement of immunization programs is therefore of vital importance.
Achieving high levels of coverage is, by itself, not a sufficient indication of the effectiveness of a health care system, as deficiencies in other areas could be widespread.
The Nigeria perspective
According to various reports published by HealthNews.NG, Nigeria has recorded tremendous progress in Nigeria but this had been limited largely by developments in some parts of northern Nigeria resulting in comparatively lower immunization rate which are also ranked among the lowest in the world.
Taking the 2003 National Immunization Schedule as example, the proportion of fully immunized infants in the targeted states was less than 1% in Jigawa, 1.5% in Yobe, 1.6% in Zamfara and 8.3% in Katsina. As a result, thousands of children in the region are still suffering from vaccine-preventable diseases.
In spite of several efforts to ameliorate the effects of this indices, the situation remains largely unchanged in many areas. While they are largely hidden from the mainstream media, they sometimes get widespread attention like the recent incident involving the Emir of Kano.
Why are Nigeria’s immunization figures still of global public health concern
There are several factors responsible for the low rates, one of such is the unsatisfactory status of primary healthcare services.
Nigerian medical professionals largely believe that primary health care services in the country are highly ineffective and have deteriorated due to the lack of investment in personnel, facilities and drugs, as well as poor management of existing resources.
They also admit to the non-existence of public confidence and trust in the health services resulting from the poor state of facilities and low standards of delivery. These problems have been exacerbated by “vertical” interventions undertaken by outside agencies which undermined the capacity of the local service providers to implement sustainable programs.
At the family and community level, there is a low demand for immunization due to a lack of understanding of its value. Other contributory factors identified are ethnicity and religious beliefs, wrong perception of routine immunization, inadequate cold chain equipment, political problems, rejection of routine immunization, shortage of vaccines and immunization supplies.
Not an impasse
In addressing the menace militating against the full immunization coverage in Nigeria, stakeholders believe that more is needed to be done in addressing the identified problems and to ensure that the country’s immunization figures are reliable and are a true picture of the country’s immunization status.
Experts believe that health education is crucial in sensitizing the people on the importance of immunization. They added that religious bodies and figures need to join the sensitization efforts by encouraging their members to embrace immunization.