The Federal Ministry of Health has adopted new security features on the new yellow card to prevent imitation and abuse.
The Head of Port Health Service, Dr. Sani Gwarzo, disclosed this recently in Abuja at a sensitization meeting of stakeholders on the new security-featured yellow card administration.
Dr. Gwarzo said the Ministry presented the yellow card to the 55th national council of health and obtained approval to change the yellow card.
He added that in addition to changing it, they also improved the security features to make sure it is not abused, as the cards were issued without vaccination by unauthorized persons who issued the cards for financial gain.
He said: “we’ve been facing a lot of difficulties because of the old yellow card.
“It has been faked; it’s been issued wrongly and also issued without the necessary tests.
“We have made some changes on the new card, both visible and invisible security features.
“We have kept the invisible security features of the new card to ourselves for additional security vigilance.”
Dr. Gwarzo further added that they have produced over 500, 000 copies of the new yellow card, and at least 300, 000 copies have already been issued and they are in the process of acquiring more because the high demand for it.
Also speaking at the sensitization meeting of stakeholders, the Ministry’s Director of Public Health,Dr Bridget Okeguale, who was represented by the
National Co-ordinator, HIV and AIDS, Dr Evelyn Ngige, said the Federal Ministry of Health, has scaled up the new yellow cards to all the 36 states and the federal capital Territory (FCT) to ensure universal access to the new encoded yellow cards.
She said: “Service delivery points were initially limited to border posts, but with the new security-coded yellow cards, the offices have been scaled up to all the 36 states and the FCT.”
