Despite intensified efforts by the Anambra State Government and its partners to make vaccines available to every child in the state, about nine local government areas are still reporting very low immunization coverage indices.
The Director of the Immunization and Disease Control Department of the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, ANSPHCDA, Dr Placid Uliagbafusi, said this is due to vaccine hesitancy, caregiver misconceptions about vaccines, and insecurity in some parts of the state.
Uliagbafusi disclosed this during a Stakeholders’ Engagement Meeting for Round 2 of the Big Catch-up initiative in Anambra State, held in Awka, by the State Government and its partners.
The Big Catch-Up is an activity designed to intensify routine immunization in the nine local governments identified as lagging behind in immunization in the state.
The LGAs are Aguata, Ayamelum, Anaocha, Idemili North, Idemili South, Orumba North, Orumba South, Nnewi South, and Ihiala.
Representatives of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), the Association of Town Unions (ASATU), the Ministry of Women Affairs, Women leaders, and the media were invited to engage with the stakeholders. Their job will be to help mobilize parents and caregivers to make their children available for the Big Catch-Up exercise.
According to Dr Uliagbafusi, the essence of the Big Catch-Up is to vaccinate all children between 0 and 59 months who have not been vaccinated or may not have completed their doses.
He noted that during the COVID period and subsequent events, people could not present their children for vaccination, adding that a rigorous study showed that the nine LGAs were far behind in the immunization campaign.
Uliagbafusi noted that the State did reasonably well in round one of the Big Catch-Up but could not achieve its objective due to the challenges posed by widespread misconceptions driving vaccine hesitancy among the people.
“The challenges include hesitation by the caregivers, questions by caregivers which we are providing answers to, misconceptions about the vaccines, and insecurity.
“However, we are overcoming the insecurity challenge, because now, we are using natives of those areas adjudged as unsafe for the vaccination exercise,” he said.
In a goodwill message, a representative of UNICEF, Dr Uju Eze, who emphasized that the Big Catch-Up aims to reach all children of immunization age, noted that the engagement was to discuss how each of the stakeholders will play a role in achieving effective vaccine uptake.
For his part, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) Technical Assistant for Anambra State, Obinna Ezem, commended the stakeholders for their support and emphasized the importance of not denying any child access to immunization.
He assured us of the continued support of the CHAI for the initiative.
Earlier in her remarks, the Anambra State Health Educator, Mrs Uju Onwuegbuzina, described immunization as the right of every child, hence the efforts to make it accessible to all.
