By Chioma Umeha
Nigerian Youths have urged the Federal Government
to develop a sustainable domestic plan for Vaccine Financing as Gavi, the
Vaccine Alliance begins its five-year exit plan from vaccine financing support
for the country.
The position was made known recently, at the end
of a two-day ‘Routine Immunisation Youth Champions’ retreat organised by
Community Health and Research Initiative (CHR) through Partnership for Advocacy
in Child and Family Health(PACFaH).
The youths at the end of the retreat commended the
recently approved $125m World Bank Loan to finance 2017 Polio Eradication
Programme, and other routine immunisation vaccines.
However, they stressed the need for government’s
ownership of immunisation financing, without dependence on loans and donors
support, according to a statement signed by Ndidi Chukwu, Communications and
Media Officer, Community Health and Research Initiative (CHR).
The youths, representing a coalition of CHR-PACFaH
CSOs from Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano, Niger among other federal delegates also
applauded the Federal Government on the on-going anti-corruption crusade. They
however advised that some of the recovered monies should be used to fund
pressing health issues in the country, including immunisation and strengthening
of Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs).
The youths also advised the government to increase
budgetary allocation to immunisation during the Gavi Transition period to
bridge possible immunisation funding gaps in the country, as well as innovative
financing through taxes.
Traditional and Religious leaders were urged to
effectively use their positions to actively participate in advocacy on
immunisation issues to government at all levels, by ensuring community
involvement.
On the recently signed ‘Addis Declaration on
Immunisation Financing,’ by 54 African Ministers of Health and African Heads of States at the 70th
World Health Assembly, the youths encouraged the government and stakeholders to
take responsibility and ensure full implementation of each recommendation, as
contained in the Declaration.
The youths who are members of Kaduna State
Accountability Mechanism for MNCH (KADMAM), Bauchi State Accountability
Mechanism for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (BASAM), Accountability
Mechanism for Maternal Newborn and Child Health in Kano State (AMMKaS), Civil
Society on Maternal Newborn and Child Health in Niger State (COMiN), and
TrackHealth National Accountability Mechanism (T-NAM), also saw the need for
Nigeria to create an immunization trust fund.
The youth coalition trained by CHR-PACFaH to
support Immunisation financing advocacy in Nigeria, further stressed that “as
youths, the future of our country is now, and every youth must realise that and
ensure funding for immunization on Nigerian Children is task that must be
done.”
While calling on the government to develop an
achievable plan for sustainable immunisation financing, and save Nigeria
children the dilemma of dying from preventable causes, and reversal of the
achievements recorded so far in immunization.
The economy of every country whose population is
vulnerable to diseases can never stand in the committee of nations. Nigeria
cannot afford to be left behind.
