According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, in Nigeria, three thousand children die each day of preventable diseases.
The figure is said to be scary and more needs to be done in terms of immunization to keep children alive.
Most of these deaths occur in rural areas as most rural areas in Nigeria lack functional Primary Healthcare facilities to coordinate the immunization of children against the six child killer diseases-measles, pertussis, diphtheria, tetanus, tuberculosis and poliomyelitis.
Only about twenty percent of the thirty thousand PHC facilities across Nigeria are fully functional.
Nigeria is the top country in the world in terms of number of zero dose children-children who never received any single dose of vaccine since they were born.
A visit to some Primary Healthcare Centres in Cross River state, south south Nigeria reveal that there is a high level of acceptance of child immunization in the state.
At the Primary Health Care Centre Edo, in Ikom Local Government Area of Cross River state, women were seen willingly and voluntarily bringing in their children for immunization.
Some of the mothers who spoke to Voice of Nigeria said that, they do so to keep their children alive and safe.
Accorsing to Mrs. Patience Ndoma, a mother of three, came with six months old baby Peace, her last baby for immunization.
However, during antenatal classes, expectant mothers are educated on the available vaccines for children and when they should be administered.
“I make it a point of duty to give my children immunization. The drug is always available and nobody forces me to bring my children here. All my children collect the drug as at when due,” Mrs Ndoma says.
She however said that they need more outposts in the local government area, as the available ones are far from the people.
On her part, Alice Ekpo is a first time mom, she said that she loves her baby dearly and will not want anything to happen to her son.
“I see some pictures in the hospital of children with K-leg and some lipping because of lack of immunization. I don’t want that for my first son. So, I will make sure I bring him to collect all the available vaccines.”
At the Primary Healthcare Centre,Ediba, Calabar, Mrs. Arit Effiong Bassey, said that she loves immunisation and take her children to take immunization for the benefit of the children.
“The benefit I see is good because it doesn’t allow them to fall sick. After immunization, if they feel feverish, I give them paracetamol and they are okay. Mothers should take their children for immunization because it is good for children,” Mrs. Bassey said.
On her part, Mrs Eme Effiong who was at the Primary Healthcare Centre, Big Qua Town, Calabar, said that immunization protects children from sickness and diseases.
She said that consented to immunization because she knows how important it is in the life of children.
“I have two daughters and I immunize both of them to protect them from disease. My second daughter almost had measles but because she was immunized, it did not spread. It was just a little sign. So, that is why vaccination is very important.”
The Director Immunization and Disease Control as well as the State Immunization Officer in the Cross River State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Mrs. Joy Chabo, says the state has gone past the level of begging or appealing to women to take their children for immunisation.
She said that mothers in the state anxiously wait for the immunisation dates for their children. Cross River state is in dire need of oral polio vaccines
“We have all the other vaccines. It is only oral Polio vaccines that we don’t have. Every other vaccine is available,” Mrs. Chabo said.
She added that the level of immunisation awareness is very high in the state.
UNICEF believes that Revitalization of primary health care is a catalyst for economic recovery post covid19 and also calls for the Nigerian government to ensure that every child gets all the necessary jabs against vaccine-preventable childhood diseases.
