By Lawal A Dogara, Kaduna
In its vision to be a leading Agency providing and promoting equitable, affordable, accessible and sustainable quality primary healthcare services for all people in Kaduna, the state’s Primary Healthcare Agency has sought media partnership.The move followed low score recorded by the state in the routine immunization coverage by an external body.
“Immunization coverage across the state is abysmally low rated at 30% and far from the national target of 80%. There is huge disparity between 2016 NICS/MICS survey coverage data and existing administrative data sources,” the Deputy Director Primary Health Care Agency, Hamza Ikara said.
Ikara who made the disclosure during a quarterly review meeting with the media and other partners such as United Nations Children’s Fund, (UNICEF) at its Secretariat on Monday said: “Kaduna State is one of the worst states in the North West on the issue of routine immunization”.
Although, he further explained that despite the disparity in the vaccination coverage, that Kaduna state last had polio cases in August 2016. “Close to two years Kaduna has not recorded any cases of polio,” he said.
While speaking, he attributed the failure to lack of knowledge, lack of time or other family issues, mistrust or fears of the personnel by the residents, service delivery issues among others.
“We have been able to achieve 30%, while states like Sokoto, Zamfara and Bauchi scored below 30 %, he said.
Ikara agreed that expansion of R1 services at secondary health facilities with high volume of eligible children (target daily sessions), implementation of state –wide revised community engagement strategies that support Mai Ungwas to develop and share monthly line-lists of all newborns with HF in-charges could help to scale up routine immunization exercise in the state.
He therefore appealed to the media for a good working relationship, saying that they must continue to support the agency in order to achieve its core values.
According to him, “The aim of the meeting is to share experiences and ideas on how the agency can do more come 2018 and to seek more support of the media in the promulgation and sensitizing the public about the polio routine immunization”, he said
