The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a report ahead of the 2024 Seventy-seventh World Health Assembly, with Nigeria identified as the leading country among the top 20 zero-dose countries of 2022.
According to the report, with over 2.3 million estimated zero-dose children, Nigeria accounts for approximately 16 per cent of the global total.
Zero-dose children, defined as those who lack access to routine immunization services, pose a significant challenge to public health efforts. These children have not received their first dose of the DTP vaccine, which contains diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis.
The report reiterated the urgent need to address this issue, especially considering the global efforts to achieve the health-related Sustainable Development Goals.
Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, highlighted the importance of accelerating progress towards these goals through concerted action and targeted investments.
”Nigeria’s ranking as the top country with zero-dose children underscores the critical need for strategic interventions to improve vaccination coverage and equity.
”The government’s National Strategy for Immunization and Primary Health Care System Strengthening should prioritise reaching communities with high burdens of zero-dose children,” he stated.
In response to this challenge, the Ministry of Health, with support from WHO, has utilized the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All to identify and reach zero-dose communities through the primary health care system.
The multilateral collaboration platform has facilitated the implementation of targeted interventions to improve immunization coverage and reduce the number of zero-dose children.
Efforts to address this issue include the establishment of a data system to locate zero-dose communities, stakeholder workshops, and targeted actions within the National Strategy for Immunization and Primary Health Care System Strengthening.
The initiatives aim to reach every zero-dose child and missed community to ensure expanded childhood vaccination coverage across Nigeria.
”As Nigeria continues its efforts to address the challenge of zero-dose children, sustained commitment and collaboration among stakeholders, researchers, industrialists, and government agencies will be crucial in achieving the desired outcomes and improving public health outcomes nationwide,” the report stated.
Recall that the WHO and other stakeholders recently underscored the importance of investing in data and sustainable strategies to combat malaria in Nigeria.
At a Ministerial Roundtable Meeting in Abuja, WHO’s regional director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, emphasized the critical role of accurate data in accelerating efforts to eliminate malaria.
Dr Moeti stressed the need for Nigeria to prioritise investments in local community data to drive effective interventions.
