As part of its objectives to align key stakeholders on a collaborative and forward-thinking approach to expanding and scaling access to vaccines in Nigeria, Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund (NSSF) in partnership with the Nigeria Health Watch (NHW) championed the first of its 4-part webinar series on “Expanding access to vaccines in Nigeria and building community confidence in vaccines”.
This webinar discussed the current landscape of the immunization program in Nigeria, highlighted what has worked and what hasn’t, and advocated for effective campaigns through strengthened Public-Private-Partnerships, and effective use of data for improved efficiency and accountability.
The event was opened by the vice-chairman, NSSF, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, who during his welcome remarks highlighted the importance of improving primary healthcare infrastructure to achieve better vaccine programs. He said: “if the Primary health infrastructure exists at the level we want it to, then the cost of vaccines and it’s administration across the country and across demographics will reduce.”
At the webinar discussion which had over 500 registrants and 234 attendees, the GM/CEO, NSSF, Dr. Fejiro Chinye-Nwoko, intimated attendees on the theme of the webinar series on “Expanding Access to Vaccines in Nigeria: Building Community Confidence in Vaccines”.
She stated that it was necessary to host the webinar series to raise awareness on the poor immunization coverage in Nigeria and the increased number of zero dose children which according to WHO and UNICEF is 3.1 million children.
This outcome was greatly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
She went on to say “NSSF looks to support the Nigerian government in its vaccination plans by bringing together private and public sector partnerships to bridge the gaps in areas such as funding and technical expertise in health sector leadership and immunization programs in the country.”
The event also brought together leaders in the health sector as speakers and panellists. They included policy experts, private sector leaders, funders, and non-governmental and government organizations.
Among them were Jennifer Dent, President & CEO of BioVentures for Global Health; Dr Caroline Jehu-Appiah, Director, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Nigeria, Dr Fejiro Chinye-Nwoko, GM (General Manager), NSSF; Mr Yusuf Yusufar, Senior Program Officer (SPO) Vaccine Delivery in the Nigeria Country Office of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Dr Abdullahi Bulama Garba, Director of Statistics, NPHCDA (NATIONAL PRIMARY HEALTH CARE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY)
One common theme among the speakers was the need for and the use of quality data in the expansion of vaccination campaigns across the country.
The CEO, BVGH, Jennifer Dent said-” One key challenge to implementing and sustaining vaccination is finding the right partners because it would require local priorities to drive them.” She reiterated the need to build relationships, test ideas through pilots, and work with local stakeholders including grassroot, state, and national level stakeholders.
Dr. Caroline Jehu-Appiah- Director, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Nigeria shared insights on how immunization is failing in Nigeria, despite being cost effective.
Some of the key challenges include the tight fiscal space, the increasing cost of vaccines, poor population census, poor coverage of outbreaks, brain drain in the health sector, weak immunization demand, unutilized or poor data quality.”
Dr Abdullahi Bulama Garba pointed that instability in government amongst others was one of the reasons for slow or non-existent vaccine production. He noted that vaccine manufacturing was expensive and complex locally however, the government’s partnerships with countries such as India and Indonesia to support vaccine manufacturing would help bring down costs.
Mr. Yusuf Yusufari emphasized the need to have an end-to-end overview “(from manufacturer to the last man.)” and commended the NPHCDA immunization program that has reduced the vaccine stock out and has led to improved vaccine delivery in some states.
The discussion on expanding access to vaccines in Nigeria continues in upcoming webinars this year, and at the NSSF’s centre is the goal of improving access and uptake of vaccines for each group and identity in the country.
