THE Federal government has been tasked to return Nigeria on track towards winning the war against polio by meeting its $181 million immunisation funding requirement for 2017/ 2018.
Making the call in Lagos during a retreat held for National Immunization Financing Task Team, NIFT, advocacy committee members, the Project Director, Community Health and Research Initiative (CHR)/Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health (PACFaH), Dr. Aminu Magashi urged government to scale-up plans towards fund mobilization for immunization in the 2016 budget. Magashi noted: “As the country begins its transition process for GAVI – the Vaccine Alliance support in Nigeria, its funding requirement increases, for 2017 and 2018, close to $264 million is required for immunisation to be paid for between Nigeria and GAVI, and Nigeria is expected to commit $181million out of the $264million to fund immunisation programme.”
Funds should be factored into the 2017 budget to create sufficient time to order for vaccines needed to save the lives of nearly 7 million children born yearly who will need vaccination. “We are also exploring other advocacy channels to catalyze actions towards domestic funding for sustainable immunisation programmes through the local production of vaccines and the need for Nigeria to create a Primary Health Care Trust Fund to raise finances for PHC revitalization which also includes immunization. “In times of scarce resources for health, it is advisable the Nigerian government begins to plan on how to commence local production of some of the vaccines needed in Nigeria to reduce the funding burden also improve private-public partnership for immunization financing in Nigeria” he added. On his part, the Head & Director, Advocacy and Communications Department, NPHCDA, Mr. Eugene Ivase hinted that Nigeria faces an enormous funding gap for the immunization programme due to the cost of additional vaccines, expanding birth cohort, loss of funding following GAVI graduation and insufficient budgetary allocation to vaccines. “To fill the gap, Nigeria needs to secure more money for its vaccine programme starting from N29 billion in 2016 and rising to an estimated N63 billion by 2020. “The government of Nigeria (GoN) through the NPHCDA has made significant progress in Routine Immunization (RI). However, without adequate funding for vaccines the RI system will experience setbacks by way of stock-outs that will lead to deaths from vaccine preventable diseases.
Representive of the Chairman of NIFT, Dr. Ben Anyene, the Director, Advocacy and Communications Department, NPHCDA, Mr. Ivase, said the current resurgence of wild polio virus in the North East zone of the country will add pressure to lean financial challenge. “Calls for action in response to this impending financing challenge led to the suggestions to come up with a Nigeria Immunization Trust Fund (NITF). This is an independent entity that is expected to advocate and mobilize funds for routine and supplemental immunizations in the country from 2016 and beyond.”
Credit: vanguardngr.com