Government vaccinates 868,000 children in Abuja IDPs camps

As part of efforts to ensure that Nigeria again leaves the toga of a polio endemic country, officials have intensified immunization in the 18 northern states.

The National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the FCT Primary Healthcare Board took the campaign to internally displaced persons camps in Abuja during the November round of the Supplementary Immunization Plus Days (SIPOS).

The FCT administration confirmed the influx of some families with children with zero polio immunization. These children were said to have come with their families from Borno where the war against insurgency is intensifying.

Acting Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of NPHCDA, Dr. Emmanual Odu, noted that the immunization exercise in Abuja would cover the six area councils.

Officials said 900, 000 doses of the polio vaccines were released for Abuja.The November round of immunization in 18 states is currently synchronized with Chad, Niger and Cameroun Republic.

Executive Secretary of the FCT Primary Healthcare Development Board, Dr. Rilwanu Mohammed, told The Guardian that the WHO sent two additional teams to join the Abuja team to carry out the immunization.

The immunization campaign which was flagged off in Wasa Community, a settlement housing an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp, in Abuja, provided an opportunity to immunize many children who had just joined the camp from Borno.

Speaking at the flag off of the third round of the polio outbreak vaccine response, subnational immunization plus days in Abuja, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Muhammed Musa Bello, stressed that the exercise was part of the strategies aimed at vaccinating children against poliomyelitis.

“It serves as a booster dose for children already vaccinated and as an opportunity for reaching out to missed children. As a continuation of the subnational vaccine response to the August and September, 2016 wild polio outbreaks in Borno State, the FCTA will continue to participate as scheduled…. It is gratifying to note that FCT has technically interrupted transmission of the wild polio virus as the last confirmed outbreak was in the first quarter of 2013 with 3 cases,” the Minister noted.

Bello went on: “With coverage below the minimum acceptable 90% in the October round as confirmed by the end process monitoring data, FCT has demonstrated progressive improvement in the quality of implementation of the subnational immunization plus days.”He spoke on how the FCT task force on polio eradication initiative and routine immunization was institutionalizing quality planning, implementation and evaluation of all supplementary and routine immunization activities in the FCT.

He added: “I urge the Chairman of the six Area Councils to take up the challenge and be part of the polio end game. I urge them to, among others, be personally involved in support of polio eradication and routine immunization by active supervision of immunization plus days and routine immunization activities. They should ensure the release of Area Council counterpart funds at least one week prior to IPDs and to attend daily IPDs evening review meetings, ensure and chair meetings of the Area Council Task Force on polio and routine immunization.”

In a speech read on behalf of the Acting Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretariat, FCTA, the Executive Secretary of the FCT Primary Healthcare Development Board, Dr. Rilwanu Mohammed, noted that the first and second rounds of the sub-national campaigns were conducted in September and October.

“FCTA showed progressive improvement in performance from coverage of 87 per cent which was below the minimum acceptable 90 per cent in the September round to 98 per cent in the October round as confirmed by the end process monitoring data. With this third round, I am hopeful that the quality of implementation will be better.”

Mohammed noted that the supplemental immunization campaigns were approaches aimed at vaccinating children from birth to 59 months against poliomyelitis with the aim of serving as booster for children already vaccinated, and an opportunity to reaching out to missed children.

He explained: “FCT keeps recording increased number of missed and unimmunized children particularly due to the influx of internally displaced persons into formal and informal camps and locations in the territory. Hence, FCT has a high polio index and should therefore achieve and maintain 90 per cent and more in routine immunization coverage in all wards.

“We are stepping up our efforts to ensure that we map out these locations, update our microplans and reach those in need of immunization services. In this line, our ongoing catch-up efforts will be sustained.

“Therefore, activities of the reactivated FCT and Area Councils Task Forces on Polio Eradication Initiative and Routine Immunization to receive support while scaling up of routine immunization intensification from two area councils (Abuja Municipal and Kwali Area Councils by UNICEF) to all the six Area Councils by the WHO from last week of August 2016 is already on tract to closing the identified immunization services access gaps.”