UNICEF calls for more support in fight against endemics

In a bid to fully eradicate Polio in Nigeria, and address vaccine-induced cases of polio, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has strengthened its effort to enhance routine immunisation efforts and improve awareness of society-threatening endemics.

Despite being declared free of wild polio in 2020, concerns have been raised over vaccine-induced cases of polio, particularly the Circulating Variant Poliovirus (cVPV2) and the benefits of immunisation in preventing childhood diseases.

Speaking to The Guardian on his visit to Nigeria, to mark UNICEF World Polio Day (WPD) with the theme, ‘Leave no One Behind’, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Mr Gilles Fagninou, said the organisation has invested in high impact sensitisation campaigns, aimed at countering zero dose immunisation cases in the West and Central Africa regions.

Fagninou said: “West and Central Africa cover 24 countries, and Nigeria is the largest of these countries. If we don’t make a difference in Nigeria, the region will not be able to make progress.”

He admitted that the world has taken significant steps towards achieving zero cases of Polio but insisted that there is no room for complacency in the final strides, believing that the occasion of World Polio Day would create grounds for multi-national collaborations in tackling the endemic.

“We’ve had those kinds of preventable diseases in the past, and the world has made an effort to reach zero cases. We are now close to zero cases of Polio and it is always complicated on the last mile, so efforts need to be made. But this is not about one country; we need to do it together.

“That is why this kind of day where several countries come together, partnerships and collaborations are important in making sure that we join our efforts to make it happen,” he said.

Statistically, West and Central Africa still account for the largest cohort of unvaccinated children, with 4.3 million children in the region yet to receive any vaccine dose.

Fagninou stated that this has been largely due to an information gap and common misconceptions about vaccines. He revealed that UNICEF was collaborating with partners to find creative ways to address the knowledge deficit.

“Currently the region has the lowest coverage worldwide – we have 4.3 million unvaccinated children. It is a challenge, and we know that the COVID-19 pandemic has not helped us. Because of that situation, routine immunization has been challenged.”

Now, we are trying to come back on track and that is why during WPD, we brought together a large coalition of partners, to collaborate and join forces, build on our comparative advantage and be able to make things happen,” Fagninou said.

He stated that UNICEF entered an artistic collaboration, which would bring together 11 top artistes to produce a song on immunisation titled ‘No More Zero Dose’, aimed to reach out to children who have never been vaccinated, sensitise them on the importance of receiving their first dose, and to get their parents on board as well.

Fagninou believed it is impossible to accomplish UNICEF’s global immunisation agenda without having the various governments and policymakers on board. He commended different governments on their efforts to reach zero cases of Polio but called for more support.

“The role of government is extremely important. UNICEF can help, but to upscale it, it is the government that has the means, the resources and the prerogative to upscale it. What we have seen in the region during the last months and year is promising. We are seeing governments taking from the domestic resources to fund procurement of vaccines, and it is progressing,” he added.