Nigeria needs $2bn for routine immunisation

Nigeria needs about $2bn for routine immunisation for the next 10 years, just as over 4.3m children in the country are unimmunised despite demonstrable evidence of vaccine availability.

Disclosing this at a breakfast meeting with development partners, private sector and CSOs on immunisation in Abuja, Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib said NPHCDA has rolled out a number of interventions to quickly boost immunisation coverage, by intensifying focus on 18 low-performing states and those with high numbers of unimmunised children.

Shuaibu said his agency is working to achieve an average of 84 per cent national immunisation coverage by 2028; ensure implementation of the three-hub system to improve vaccine storage and distribution, as well as scale-up of direct health facility vaccine deliveries to 26 states.

He explained that the development of the Nigeria Strategy for Immunisation and Primary Health Care System Strengthening (NSIPSS) is premised on need to have a robust and ambitious, but realistic plan to improve and sustain immunisation coverage.