As part of efforts to increase vaccination coverage and improve access to healthcare, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), with support from GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), have sponsored the enrolment of about 10,000 beneficiaries from high zero-dose burden communities into the Niger State Contributory Health Agency (NiCare).
The intervention covers communities with a high number of children who have never received any dose of the pentavalent vaccine in three local government areas of the state, namely Mashegu, Bida, and Suleja local governments.
A survey carried out has shown that Mashegu is one of the 100 zero-dose LGAs in Nigeria; this necessitated an interaction recently at the Ibbi Community of the LGA between officials of NiCare, UNICEF, the Ministry of Primary Health, and Mashegu LG Council, as well as stakeholders of the community and beneficiaries of the intervention.
The beneficiaries will have access to healthcare services offered by NiCare, such as immunisation, malaria treatment, typhoid fever, and antenatal delivery, as well as surgical procedures like caesarian section, herniorrhaphy, and appendicectomy, among others.
The officials seized the opportunity of the interactive session to enlighten the beneficiaries and other stakeholders of the community on the importance of vaccination and free access to other health care services, using the identity cards distributed to the enrollees.
Speaking during the session, the NiCare team, led by Pharm Attahiru Shehu Malagi, sensitised the community members on the benefits of the Niger State Contributory Health Scheme and urged them to utilise the opportunity to improve their health status and to always present their children for immunisation.
The UNICEF facilitator, Salisu Abdullahi, explained the appropriate age for routine immunisation and encouraged them to comply with the routine to reduce zero dose burden in Mashegu LGA.
He explained that immunisation of the child was expected to commence immediately after birth, and after six weeks the second dose is given to the child, while the third dose comes after 10 weeks, and after 14 weeks of birth the child is administered the fourth dose. The fifth and sixth doses, according to the UNICEF official, were administered at nine and 15 months of birth.
In his remarks, the representative of the district head of Zugurma, Alhaji Muhammadu Liman, while appreciating the intervention, promised to spread the message across all other communities in the area so as to ensure that the objectives of the intervention were achieved.