By Anietie Akpan
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have decried funding cuts to global health, saying already, over 15 million Vulnerable children cannot be vaccinated
Outbreaks of vaccines preventable diseases are increasing all over the world putting lives at risk and exposing countries to increase costs in treating diseases and responding to outbreaks as this can push health issues to further jeopardy.
The Health Specialist, UNICEF Field Office Enugu, Dr Olusoji Akinleye, said this while presenting a paper at the two day Media Dialogue on 2025 World Immigration Week with the theme: ‘Immunization for All is Humanly Possible’ in 12 states of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross river, Benue, Ebonyi, Enugu, Rivers, Delta, Imo and Kogi on Thursday, April 24, 2025 at Hotel Fidelma, Enugu, organized by UNICEF, Enugu Field Office in collaboration with Broadcasting Corporation of Abia State (BCA).
Presenting a paper on “‘Immunization for All is Humanly Possible’- Availability” at the dialogue which was monitored virtually from Calabar by Pillar Today, Akinleye said the health sector is stretched with lots of challenges, saying, “I would like to talk of the shrinking funding support to immunization and the entire health spectrum .
“There is an ongoing global funding cut which further worsens the situation. A recent WHO report shows that nearly half of the countries’ summits are facing serious mortgage to severe destruction to vaccinations campaign as a result to funding cuts which immunization also suffers and access to supply due to reduced Dollar funding.
“At the same time the number of children missing routine immunizations has increased in recent years even as countries do catch up of children missed during the pandemic . That is the covid pandemic. You recall that between 2019 and 2022 the whole world was grappling with the covid 19 pandemic” .
He said that within that period, laboratories that used to produce vaccines had to concentrate efforts on research for covid 19 vaccine. So there was scarcity of vaccines on one hand and during that period vaccine hesitancy grew so our routine immunization suffered, coverage got very low.
“So we had to come up with the Big Catch Up campaign in some countries including Nigeria and we were able to cover lost ground so to say.
“In 2023, an estimated 40.5 million children missed all of their routine vaccine doses. That’s an increase upfront, that’s from 13. 9 million in 2022 and 4.9 million in 2019. In other words we are having an increasing population of children who did not have immunization.
“Over half of these children live in countries facing conflicts and instability were access to basic health services are disrupted and by the way Nigeria falls into this category”.
Quoting the Executive Director of UNICEF, Cathrine Russel, “the global funding crisis is severely limiting our ability to vaccinate about 15 million vulnerable children in fragile and vulnerable countries against measles …immunization services, disease surveillance in almost 50 countries are already being disrupted”, he said.
The UNICEF Health Expert, stated that joint efforts by UNICEF and partners have helped countries address some of these challenges as “every year vaccines serve over 14.2 million lives in these countries with nearly half of these lives saved in the African region . In past two years we have saved many lives like in the African region which has the highest rate of cervical cancer in the world” .
In view of this, Akinleye said, “UNICEF and WHO are calling for urgent and sustained political efforts and investment to strengthen immunization efforts and protect significant progress achieved as per reducing child mortality over the past 50 years.
“Vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives in the past five decades…Countries with limited resources must invest in the highest impact interventions and that includes vaccines according to the WHO Director General”.
Besides funding, he listed other challenges facing the health system to include poor economy, noting that “when the economy is bad every system, sector suffers including health . Funding can hardly come as expected to the required level.
“Secondly we are experiencing heavy reduction in the workforce as people are retiring and because of the economic challenges they are not being replaced . Some of our health workers who are not getting better remuneration go abroad in what we call the ‘Japa’ syndrome. We have high skill health professionals emigrating to other climes.
“There is non availability of products and other consumables. Insecurity is another challenge in the South East. We know in some local governments in Imo and Anambra states facilities have been closed down. And people can not access health care for fear of their lives and it is not safe for health workers to make these services available”
On how these challenges are being addressed, he said, everyone should be involved, Governments need to invest in strengthening and harmonizing immunization while, UNCEF in its last line support, is ensuring vaccines availability at every level right from national to the point of service at the facilities providing for personnel and support.
While formerly declaring the media dialogue open, the UNICEF Chief Field Officer, Juliet Chiluwe said, UNICEF is doing its best and will continue to do so to ensure good health services for women and children, and “we will provide funds, logistics, support and other things to provide all these services”.
She commended the contributions from state governments that “urgunent UINCEF efforts in these areas and we will not relent but work to ensure that our services and vaccines get to the last line”.
The Communications Officer, UNICEF, Enugu Field Office, Dr. Ijeoma Onuoha Ogwe, in her Introductory remarks, said the main objectives of the dialogue, “is reporting media role in information sharing and form an existing partnership on campaign against Immunize able diseases
Dr. Ogwe who was the Moderator of the meeting, said the dialogue would further engage the media to help disseminate, create and harmonized messages about immunization for all as humanly possible, update of current trends as provided by the 2025 theme and immunization materials
On the third objective, she stated that the Media “will step up advocacy for the realization of this theme. While holding stakeholders accountable for the fulfillment of the right of the child in survival, development and protection from harm”.
Another Health Specialist, UNICEF Field Office, Enugu, Dr Ifeyinwa Anyanyo, said Vaccines are taken closer to the people right from the state cold chain to the Local Government cold chain.
Dr. Anyanyo who spoke on “‘Immunization for All is Humanly Possible” – Accessibility”, however pointed out that “insecurity remains a challenge in the entire country. Inspire of that our mandate is to continue to provide those interventions to make sure that no child is left behind”.
On rugged terrain, she said , “for us in UNICEF we continue to provide support in terms of logistics to some of these immunization activities and targeted areas and priority is given to areas with difficult terrain” and in some cases drones are used.
