Nigeria is hoping to be declared polio free very soon but with immunization efforts on hold, the goal is threatened
While immunization campaigns are popular news items on Nigerian blogs, radios and the pages of newspapers, immunization clinics run weekly at various facilities across Nigeria notably primary health centers, secondary healthcare facilities and tertiary health centers.
A routine schedule exists at the centers and parents are given cards to note the dates they will be bringing their children to the clinic for the next dose of vaccination. But since April when health workers that are directly involved in the administration of vaccines joined other health workers that embarked on a nationwide strike to press home their demands, immunization exercise across the country has been on hold. This development makes it even more difficult for Nigeria to achieve eradication of vaccine preventable diseases anytime soon.
This week, Nigeria joined the rest of the world in participating at the World Health Assembly. Describing Nigeria’s fate in the control of vaccine preventable diseases, Dr Abdullahi Bulama Garba, Director of Planning, Research and Statistics at the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) noted that Nigeria needs additional support on immunization, this request was made based on Nigeria’s population.
According to Abdullahi, without additional support, Nigeria may not be able to achieve eradication of vaccine preventable diseases within the stipulated time.
But back home, parents who are even struggling to comply with the immunization schedule are lamenting that the strike action could make their previous efforts to be in vain. This is in spite of hundreds of millions of donors’ dollars and efforts of numerous donor agencies and international supports for childhood immunization against preventable diseases.
Mrs Adepetu is a tailor who recently delivered a baby girl at a primary health center in Ibadan. She revealed that she was scheduled to bring the baby for immunization on May 21. The baby was to be given the pentavalent vaccine which would protect her against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenzae type B.
”I want to know the status of the strike as I’m supposed to be at the immunization clinic on May 21 for my appointment,” she said.
During this particular visit, she would have also gotten her daughter protected against polio with the administration of the oral polio vaccine (OPV).
But no thanks to the ongoing strike whose end remains unknown, Mrs Adepetu and thousands of parents across Nigeria would have to rely on luck, faith and fate to protect their wards against the diseases the vaccines are expected to protect their children against.
Unlike maternal care which could be obtained at private clinics, most private hospitals that they can access are not offering immunization services either.
A conservative healthnews.africa estimate put the number of children left unimmunised due to the strike action as running into millions over a period of five weeks. These include newborns and children under the age of 5 years that are at various stages of the required immunization schedules.
Strike on World Immunization Week
Towards the end of April, Nigeria joined the rest of the world in celebrating the week. On social media and at posh venues in the major city capitals, several speakers and government officials spoke glowingly about Nigeria’s immunization indices.
According to the World Health Organisation, the aim was to highlight the collective actions needed to ensure that every person is protected from vaccine-preventable diseases.
This year’s theme: “Protected Together, #VaccinesWork”, encouraged people at every level – from donors to the general public – to do more to increase immunization coverage for the greater good.
But in homes across the country, concerned families were confused over what to do to ensure their children are protected while the significantly larger uneducated population moved on with their lives.
Since the strike began, healthnews.africa investigations revealed that immunization exercises, treatment of minor ailments and hospital admissions are on hold in all institutions where there are no doctors. Furthermore, all healthcare activities that are not spearheaded and carried out by doctors are abated until further notice.
Nigerian public hospitals in urban and rural areas have been on strike and immunization services are most affected. This is because the routine immunization services are provided in most area by nurses and community health practitioners. This means that members of the public that are interested in immunizing their children cannot do so since the workers are on strike.
Not just vaccination exercise is affected
In addition to administration of vaccines, the immunization clinics in Nigeria are also saddled with the task of carrying out physical examination, monitoring child growth by recording weight and height, and developmental appraisal.
The visit is also important for the early detection and possible prevention of growth disorders, developmental problems, hearing loss, vision defects, emotional and behavioral disorders.
Treatment of minor ailments and prevention of complications are another major part of the clinic as several mothers are rest assured they would see health workers on this day.
But unlike other services that could be gotten at private establishments, children immunization is solely carried out in government hospitals except in highly influential private institutions which are not accessible by the general public.
Several health experts told healthnews.africa that immunization exercise has been totally crippled in Nigeria by the ongoing strike and its effects would be felt in days to come when the strike is called off and parents begin to bring their children to the hospital for treatment of vaccine-preventable diseases.
This especially expected to affected parts of Nigeria where routine immunization coverage has been low and could worsen in regions with appreciate coverage even though the country is still far from reaching the 90% coverage target.
In some parts of northern Nigeria, UNICEF said only 10% of children have been fully immunized. This was when the clinics were open and vaccines were available in the health centers – not to talk of the current dispensation when the clinics are shut.
Available options
Toyin Saraki, Founder of the Wellbeing Foundation, while speaking at a technical briefing to launch the Business Case for WHO Immunization Activities in Africa at the 71st World Health Assembly, called for increased support from the WHO to Nigeria to boost immunization coverage.
According to her, Nigeria should have a special category for Nigeria in global health issues. She also called for capacity building programmes for the private sector and civil society in driving immunization activities in Nigeria.
Responding, Dr Richard Mihigo, programme coordinator, Immunization and Vaccine Development at the WHO, described Nigeria as a top priority country for polio and other immunization themes.
While noting that civil society groups are important in eradicating deaths from vaccine preventable diseases, Dr Mihigo revealed that WHO is poised to finding local solutions by seeking to support the primary healthcare revitalization system in Nigeria.
“The health system in Nigeria is quite fundamental and we do recognize the disparity across the different states. It is with that complexity in mind that the WHO is working with the government of Nigeria and supporting the ministry of health to develop a specific business case for Nigeria”, he said.