By Ajuma Edwina Ogiri
Abuja
Nigeria’s ranking as the third, among countries with the lowest score in the integrated Global Action for Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD), has been described as a cause for great concern to the Nigeria government.
This was disclosed yesterday in Abuja, by the Chief Oversight Officer of Vaccine Network for Disease Control (VNDC), Chika Offor, during a press conference to mark the 2017 World Pneumonia Day, organised in collaboration with the Community Health Research Initiative (CHR).
Offor stressed that a 38 per cent score against the required 70 per cent threshold, as well as scoring only 26 out of the 45 per cent required pneumococcal conjugate vaccine coverage, required greater political will for better results in the next survey.
She said: “Nigeria records only 1 per cent from the 2016 report. There is need for greater political will and more local investment that will take the Addis Ababa declaration on immunisation that Africa leads the states, which was endorsed in 2017.
“CHR and vaccine network joined other civil societies across Africa to raise their voices to enhance awareness about pneumonia. Immunisation is the best strategy to get rid of pneumonia, instead of waiting to treat the children when they are sick. We have to increase our action.”
