NMA Decries Declined Rate Of Child Immunisation
Kaduna State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has decried the declining immunisation coverage across the country, especially in northern Nigeria.
The State NMA Chairman, Dr Shehu Abdulrahman, who stated this on Tuesday while addressing a news conference in Kaduna said the situation was totally unacceptable.
According to him, available data from the 2016/2017 National Immunisation Coverage revealed that only 33 percent of children between 12 to 23 months of age have access to vaccines compared to the global target of 90 percent.
Dr Abdulraman was, however, worried that a large population of Nigerian children under age five were unprotected, saying they were being exposed to the risk of dying from preventable diseases such as measles and Hepatitis B among others.
He said except something was done urgently to reverse the trend, no meaningful development can take place in a situation where diseases and death are ravaging the potential leaders and hopes of tomorrow.
The NMA Chairman further called on government at all levels and other stakeholders in the health sector to provide more funds for child health, particularly routine immunisation activities.
He also asked them to support healthcare workers in the rural areas with adequate logistics and incentives to enable them to discharge their duties effectively.
Abdulrahman also appealed to the Federal Government to fully implement the National Health Act, 2014, which he said provided for the setting aside of one percent of consolidated revenue as Basic Health Provision Fund.
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