The Coordinating Ministry of Health and Social Welfare says 98 per cent of children infected with diphtheria in 19 states were unvaccinated.
The Minister, Muhammad Pate, made the disclosure at the Northern Traditional Leaders’ Committee on Primary Health Care Service Delivery (NTLC) Quarterly Review Meeting on Wednesday in Abuja.
The meeting was organised by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NTLC meeting is a platform for the NPHCDA and its partners to engage traditional leaders on their roles and responsibilities toward improving primary healthcare delivery in their communities.
The minister called for the implementation of a rapid vaccination campaign. He said that the 19 states must come together to save the lives of vulnerable children.
Mr Pate said that the ministry and other stakeholders had come together to aggressively tackle the diphtheria challenge that had persisted for months.
He said that efforts were being made to ensure that the challenge would not linger. The minister said that a major milestone was the upcoming launch of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in Nigeria later in October.
He said that technical experts involved in the efforts had reassured the country of the safety and effectiveness of the HPV vaccine.
Credit: premiumtimesng.com
