A group, Civil Society Platform on Health, CSPH, Kogi State chapter, has urged the state governments to strengthen its counterpart obligations to international donor agencies for increased access to life-saving vaccines.
Chairman of the platform in the state, Mallam Sani Abubakar, disclosed this at the quarterly meeting of the platform held in Lokoja at weekend.
Abubakar explained that statistics had shown that one out of every five children who die before the age of five lose their lives to vaccine-preventable diseases, adding that most of the unimmunized children live in the poorest and most remote communities. He said over 22.6 million children in developing countries do not receive vaccines that prevent life-threatening diseases due to inadequacy of the vaccines and lack of accessibility, especially in the rural areas.
According to him, Gavi Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations, GAVI, Geneva, Switzerland was established in 2000 with mandate to save children and protect people’s health by increasing access to immunisation among the poor.
Abubakar noted that for the nation to strengthen its health system and particularly against life-threatening diseases, government at all levels must ensure their counterpart obligations to the programmes facilitated by international partners and donor agencies were met.
Abubakar, who is also the state chairman of Association of Civil Society Organisations Working in Malaria, Immunisation and Nutrition, ACOMIN, said the platform was a network of 25 CSOs on health.
Part of the objectives of the platform, according to him, is improved Public Private Partnership, PPP, with governments and development partners on healthcare issues and increased community participation in healthcare activities through education and communication.
Credit: National Mirror
