A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund (NSSF) in partnership with IHS Towers have committed N47 million to immunise children unfer five years across the 196 wards of Cross River.
Mrs Fejiro Chinye-Nwoko, NSSF General Manager, made the disclosure during a meeting with the Commissioner Health, Dr Henry Ayuk in Calabar on Wednesday.
Chinye-Nwoko noted that the immunisation programme which would last for six months, would cost NSSF and IHS to execute.
She pointed out that the immunisation programme which she described as intervention, became necessary to reduce child mortality in the state.
The NSSF general manager noted that the gesture which is grant, would be executed through the state’s Primary Healthcare Development Agency.
According to her, the funding is aimed at supporting the “Conduct and Supervision of Optimised Outreach Sessions for Routine Immunization (SCOORI) across the 196 wards of the state.”
She noted that through the data available from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), it was discovered that some states were grabbing with the issue of paucity of fund for immunisation.
She stressed that as a result, the NSSF and conjunction with the IHS Nigeria, would carry out similar intervention in six states of the federation.
“NSSF is bridging the financial gap by supporting immunisation outreaches all in a bid to reduce mortality rate of under five children.
“Over 70 percent of children are not immunised in Nigeria, we want to make sure that every disease that can be controlled or prevented is effectively done while things like outbreaks are also prevented.
“We did an intervention in 2021/2022 on COVID-19 in six states and we discovered that we had positive impacts with the support given to those states.
“This time, we will be also intervening in six states for the next six months with Cross River being part of the states.
“We will be tracking the disbursement of fund and the impact. We hope to sustain this intervention and also hope to attract private sector participation in a bid to accommodate more states subsequently,” she stated.
She said that the collaborative effort recognises the vital role of immunisation in protecting the health of Nigeria children and aimed to improve access to life-saving vaccines for every child.
She added that the intervention was also meant to prevent life-threatening diseases and outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases as witnessed recently in the country.
According to her, “This initiative will improve the sub-optimal immunisation coverage, bridge the immunisation gap, and safeguard vulnerable populations.
“This pilot project marks the beginning of NSSF’s collaboration with both the private and public sectors to address poor routine immunisation challenges in Nigeria after a successful collaboration to improve COVID-19 vaccination in the past.
“The immunisation outreaches will be carried out by skilled healthcare workers from the communities, with supervision provided by community members and healthcare professionals at various levels of governance, including ward, local government, state, and national levels.”
On his part, Commissioner for Health in Cross River, commended the NSSF for the intervention.
Ayuk assured that the fund will be judiciously applied for the intended purpose in order to achieve the desired result.
“This kind of assistance from NSSF is uncommon and we appreciate even more because it’s coming from an indigenous organisation.
“I want to assure you and IHS that is providing the funding that your investments are safe and well protected, and your efforts will never go unrecognised.
“You know my background; I understand how it works, and am certain that you will get the best from Cross River state,” he assured.
