Federal Lawmakers have proposed legislative intervention to ensure a consistent supply of vaccines, emphasizing the importance of transparency and availability at all levels of healthcare, particularly for children under five and pregnant women.
At a multi-stakeholder’ technical workshop on optimisation of sustainable immunisation financing model in Nigeria, held in Abuja, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Ipalibo Harry, expressed concern on the shortage of vaccines.
Senator Ipalibo Harry Harry called for collaboration of all stakeholders to find ways of addressing the burden of low immunisation in the country.
“Can you imagine a picture where children gather on a day for immunization, and you come out and you say, sorry, there is no vaccine, please go back home. Can you imagine how that would feel to a mother? So when we saw that this thing was going this way, as legislators, do we said, why not also have a first line charge for immunization?”
Chairman of the House Committee on Healthcare Services, Mr. Amos Magaji, advocated increased budgetary allocation to immunisation through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, BHCPF, alongside private sector engagement and innovative financing mechanisms.
Mr. Magaji said it would address underfunding of immunisation initiatives and Nigeria’s over-reliance on external donors, which he said had created complacency towards domestic funding responsibilities.
The Special Adviser to the President on Health, Dr. Salma Ibrahim Anas highlighted the challenges funding gaps and emphasised the need for state contributions as well as local manufacturing to reduce costs and improve sustainability.
“The legislators have a big responsibility in addition to resource mobilisation, oversight function is very critical and the resources we have, if we use it judiciously, it can translate into concrete action. We need more of domestic and commitment. We need to start reducing donor reliance and dependence.”
The Chief Executive Officer, Vaccine Network for Disease Control, VNDC, Mrs Chika Offor said only 25% of the 2024 budget for vaccines had been released and advocated policy changes and vaccine procurement at the state level to reduce the number of zero-dose children.
“Do you know that even if you pay for vaccines today, it takes six months before you can get it. Let’s not forget that we are the highest zero dose. Let us look for innovative approaches. Let us make sure that we do the needful to make sure that vaccines get to all those that need them through proactive financing.”
On his part, the Senior Special Advisor to the Director General of the Budget Office of Nigeria, Dr. Ado Mohammed called on the establishment of a vaccine tracking mechanism and collaboration with stakeholders to ensure equitable access to vaccines in children.
