The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has stated that, in spite of the rising insecurity in Benue State, it has put in place contingency plans to reach newly displaced persons in the state for vaccination.
Health Specialist at the UNICEF Field Office, Enugu, Dr Ifeyinwa Anyanyo, announced this during a Zoom meeting Media Dialogue on the 2025 World Immunization Week organised by the UNICEF Enugu Field Office in collaboration with the Broadcasting Corporation of Abia State (BCA).
The theme of the 2025 World Immunization Week is “Immunization for all is Humanly Possible.”
According to Dr Anyanyo, who spoke on accessibility in Nigeria, the global organisation has developed contingency plans to ensure that newly displaced persons in the state, across 11 IDP camps, are reached for vaccination.
According to her, “the geographical space of the displaced is quite much. But we have contingency plan in place to reach the newly displaced and ensure impactful interventions.
“We have our presence in the IDPs camps but the needs are much and the demand is huge. It cannot be left in the hands of partners alone. The government must step in to play its roles in the various areas.”
The Health Specialist enjoined all stakeholders to work towards reaching the set targets despite the factors that create hindrances and barriers to access vaccination.
Some of the challenges hindering access to vaccination, according to her, are insecurity, geographical space, funding, and misinformation.
In his contribution, Dr Olusoji Akinyele, a Health Specialist at the Enugu Field Office who spoke on ‘Availability’, pointed out that “vaccines are one of humanity’s greatest achievements” with the reduction in infant mortality rates.
According to him, “vaccination has reduced infant mortality rate by 40 percent. Today, more children live to see their first birthday and beyond than at any other time in human history.
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“Vaccine has helped check disease outbreaks. It has helped save the lives of people of all ages. The vaccination of one individual helps to keep others safe. That is how important vaccination is to humans.”
In her introductory speech, the Communications Officer, UNICEF Enugu Field Office, Dr Ijeoma Onuoha-Ogwe, harped on the need to get media practitioners fully aware and prepared for the critical role they need to play to ensure the success of the immunization week and beyond.
In her opening remarks, the Chief of the UNICEF Field Office, Enugu, Mrs Juliet Chiluwe, noted the significance of the World Immunization Week and the importance of reaching targeted vaccination coverage.
In his welcome address, the Director General of the Broadcasting Corporation of Abia (BCA), Francis Nwubani, pointed out the life-transforming impact of vaccination and said “more lives are now being saved, among people of all ages, with more recent vaccines against malaria, Human Papiloma Virus, cholera, meningitis, RSV, Ebola and mpox, reflecting an era of massive scientific advancements in vaccine development and delivery.”
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