...since procurement of vaccines are expensive “We need Immunity Trust Fund to cater for immunization, we also need to put more money in health to build robust health system that is resilient...
The recent outbreak of meningitis in Nigeria have resulted in 490 fatalities according to the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole. The minister who made this known at an emergency meeting held on Wednesday in Kaduna with the Northern Governors and Traditional rulers covering the worst affected five states, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kabbi, Niger and Katsina State, added that an estimated one billion dollars was needed to procure vaccines for 21 million people spread across these states.
He stressed that since procurement of vaccines are expensive “We need Immunity Trust Fund to cater for immunization, we also need to put more money in health to build robust health system that is resilient".
Additionally, he advocated for a boost in government's drive in building a robust health care delivery system to support continuous vaccination in the future. He further added that apart from the Nigerian vaccine subsidized by Gavi, there is need for the government to step up investment in this area. He equally implore state governments to make concerted efforts in the health sector by revitalizing the Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across every political ward of the federation, thereby creating jobs for qualified community health extension workers to sustain the immunization drive of the government.
According to Adewole, annually, an estimated seven million births are recorded, so early immunization would reduce the prevalence of meningitis and other related diseases pointing that the earlier we consider investing in Research and Development the better chance we stand to eliminate meningitis from Nigeria.
