By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Independent News ExpressIndependent News Express
  • Home
  • International
    InternationalShow More
    UNICEF Raises Alarm Over 14m Children Worldwide At Risk Of Malnutrition
    4 weeks ago
    United Nations for Women
    In 8 Days, 830 Killed In Gaza – UN Women Raises Alarm
    1 month ago
    Sudan
    Beijing Declaration: Nations Reiterates Commitment To Rights Of Women
    2 months ago
    VFS Global
    VFS Global Launches Artificial Intelligence -Powered Chatbot For UK Visa Customers In Nigeria, 140 Other Nations
    2 months ago
    Bigo Live’s Global Community Marks a Year of Influence at Annual Gala
    4 months ago
  • Africa
    Africa
    Show More
    Top News
    Burkina Faso: UN Calls For Immediate Release Of 50 Kidnapped Women
    2 years ago
    Hunger, Diseases, Insecurity Threaten Life In Horn of Africa, As ‘129,000 Looking Death In The Eyes’
    2 years ago
    Niger Coup: PeacePro Urges AU, ECOWAS To End Foreign Military Presence In Africa Within 24 Months
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    African Union Champions Artificial Intelligence for Africa’s Socioeconomic Transformation
    1 month ago
    United Kingdom Looks to Deepen Energy Trade, Investment Ties with Africa
    2 months ago
    African Leaders Unite to Mobilize African Investment and Financing for Implementing Agenda 2063
    2 months ago
    How Youssouf Upset Odinga To Emerge New AU Chair
    3 months ago
  • Corporate News
    • Media Outreach
  • Politics
    Politics
    Show More
    Top News
    Imo Traditional Rulers Honour Buhari With ‘Friend In Diaspora’ Title
    2 years ago
    36 Lion FC Congratulate Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu
    2 years ago
    Tinubu To New Ministers: You’re To Serve The Nation, Not Your Regions Or States
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    LG Election: Stakeholders Appeal To APC Not To Allow Chairmen Run For 3rd term
    4 days ago
    More APC Chairmanship Aspirants Reject Indirect Primary For Local Govt Elections In Lagos State
    6 days ago
    Youth Party Sets May 18 for Lagos LG Primary Elections, Slashes Fees For Women and PWDs
    3 weeks ago
    Oyo State Faces Herculean Task in Picking Makinde’s Successor – Chief Ayorinde
    2 months ago
  • News
    • Agriculture
    • Breaking News
    • Tech
    • Maritime
    • Crime
    • Art & Culture
    News
    Show More
    Top News
    Celebration Of Life: Reverend Adewumi Jegede Of Later House Of God Assembly Buried Amid Pomp
    11 months ago
    Pa Abdulfatah Amoo Ayanwale
    Pa Ayanwale Dies At 76, Fidau Prayers Holds 8 August
    2 years ago
    Ondo Governor, Akeredolu Begins Construction Of First Flyover In Akure
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    Lagos Govt Organises Canada Overseas Study Tour For Youth Leaders
    1 week ago
    May Day 2025: CAPPA Urges FG, States to Prioritise Workers Welfare, Demands Implementation of a Living Wage
    1 week ago
    Umuezie Elections: Unity In Political Diversity is Key For Community Development, Former IMSUAA Boss Tells New Executive
    2 weeks ago
    2025 Edelman Trust Barometer Report Exposes Growing Mistrust Among Nigerians Towards Their Leaders, CEOs
    6 days ago
  • Entertainment
    • Comedy
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Concert & Events
    Entertainment
    Show More
    Top News
    Come Play Naija Season 2 Finale, BB Titans, Other Shows On GOtv This Weekend
    2 years ago
    Bishop Obey-Fabiyi, Onaolapo, Back May 7 World Praise Day
    2 years ago
    Savy Henry Evicted From Nigerian Idol Season 8
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    Prestige, Impact: Why AMVCA is the People’s Award Show
    2 days ago
    Celebrating African Cinema: AMVCA’s Growing Influence in Global Entertainment
    3 weeks ago
    Boulder International Film Festival Announces 2026 Festival Dates
    3 weeks ago
    Voices of the Future: How MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) Filmmakers are Redefining African Storytelling
    1 month ago
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Love & Life
    • Food & Drink
    • Travel & Tourism
    • Relationship
    • Sex
    Lifestyle
    Show More
    Top News
    YSMA
    Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art and Toledo Museum of Art Launch Historic Cultural Exchange
    2 days ago
    Leadership
    CEO Shares 3 Qualities Every Effective Leader Has
    1 year ago
    ‘Artificial Nails, Wigs Attract Misfortune To Ladies’
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art and Toledo Museum of Art Launch Historic Cultural Exchange
    2 days ago
    Piracy in Africa’s Creative Sector: How Creators Can Protect Their Content
    3 weeks ago
    Fanti Carnival Returns To Lagos This Easter Sunday
    3 weeks ago
    Ara Adire Fashion Show 2025 To Celebrate Culture, Style And Creativity In Abeokuta
    1 month ago
  • Business
    • Banking & Finance
    • Oil & Gas
    BusinessShow More
    Impact Of Online Trading Platforms Like Temu On Nigeria’s Economy
    7 hours ago
    Unity Bank Launches GenFi, Targets Children, Teens With Gamified Banking Platform
    5 days ago
    Africa Energies Summit
    Africa Energies Summit in London Must Prioritize Hiring Black Africans
    5 days ago
    Fitch Rating: Lagos Economy Is Stable
    1 week ago
    National Oil Spill Detection and Remediation Agency
    How Nigeria Lost $78.2m To Gas Flaring In Early 2025
    1 week ago
  • Health
    Health
    Show More
    Top News
    WHO Wants More Action To End ‘Cycles Of Poverty And Stigma’ Related To Tropical Diseases
    2 years ago
    Dakar Declaration: WHO Moves To Save Lives Through Road Crash In Africa
    2 years ago
    Ghana Medical Association Worries Over Exodus Of Nurses
    2 years ago
    Latest News
    VillageReach Names Dr. Ahmed Ogwell As CEO To Drive Its 2030 Strategy
    2 weeks ago
    Trump’s Trade War: Prescription Drugs Become a Target
    4 weeks ago
    BPAN Unveils Free Healthcare Program for Nigerian boxers, signs MOU with NIH
    4 weeks ago
    More Than A Disease, TB Is A Symptom Of Underinvestment By Dr Allan Pamba
    4 weeks ago
  • More
    • Sports
    • Aviation/Transportation
    • Deliverance Hour
    • Industry & Labour
    • Insurance
    • Interview
    • Judiciary
    • Metro
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Religious
    • Romance
    • Science & Discovery
Reading: Tackling Preventable Diseases, Africa Needs To Vaccinate 33m Children To Put Progress Back On Track
Share
Notification Show More
Aa
Independent News ExpressIndependent News Express
Aa
  • Home
  • International
  • Africa
  • Corporate News
  • Politics
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Health
  • More
Search
  • Home
  • International
  • Africa
  • Corporate News
    • Media Outreach
  • Politics
  • News
    • Agriculture
    • Breaking News
    • Tech
    • Maritime
    • Crime
    • Art & Culture
  • Entertainment
    • Comedy
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Concert & Events
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Love & Life
    • Food & Drink
    • Travel & Tourism
    • Relationship
    • Sex
  • Business
    • Banking & Finance
    • Oil & Gas
  • Health
  • More
    • Sports
    • Aviation/Transportation
    • Deliverance Hour
    • Industry & Labour
    • Insurance
    • Interview
    • Judiciary
    • Metro
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Religious
    • Romance
    • Science & Discovery
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • Advertise
© 2022 Foxiz News Network. Ruby Design Company. All Rights Reserved.
Independent News Express > Blog > Health > Tackling Preventable Diseases, Africa Needs To Vaccinate 33m Children To Put Progress Back On Track
Health

Tackling Preventable Diseases, Africa Needs To Vaccinate 33m Children To Put Progress Back On Track

Last updated: 2023/04/20 at 12:59 PM
2 years ago
Share
SHARE

An estimated 33 million children will need to be vaccinated in Africa between 2023 and 2025 to put the continent back on track to achieve the 2030 global immunization goals that include reducing morbidity and mortality from vaccine-preventable diseases, an analysis by World Health Organization (WHO) finds.

The unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on routine immunization services has driven up the number of zero-dose and under-immunized children, rising by 16% between 2019 and 2021 and pushing the cumulative total (2019–2021) to around 33 million, which represents nearly half the global figure, according to estimates by WHO and UNICEF.

“The pandemic has seriously set back the region’s vaccination efforts and left millions of children vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases that can cause serious illness and even death,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “As countries strive to emerge from the long shadow of COVID-19, we cannot afford to lose further ground. Every effort must be made to ensure every child has access to essential vaccines.”

- Advertisement -
Ad imageAd image

Without renewed political will and intensified efforts by governments, it is estimated that vaccination coverage in Africa will not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2027.

This year, African Vaccination Week and World Immunization Week, from 24–30 April, is being marked under the theme “The Big Catch-Up”. This is a global push by WHO and partners to intensify efforts to reach children who missed vaccinations, as well as to restore and strengthen routine immunization programmes.

The “Big Catch-Up” campaign builds on efforts to advance countries towards the goals of Immunization Agenda 2030, a strategy endorsed during the WHO World Health Assembly in 2020. It seeks to reduce mortality and morbidity from vaccine-preventable diseases, ensure equitable access to vaccines and strengthen immunization within primary health care.

To urgently scale up coverage and protect children, WHO and partners are supporting 10 priority African countries—which are among the top 20 countries globally with the highest numbers of zero-dose children—to carry out catch-up routine vaccination campaigns.

“African governments and healthcare workers made heroic efforts during an unprecedented public health emergency, vaccinating more people than ever before in history. But the ripples of this emergency response effort are still being felt. At the Vaccine Alliance we are intensifying our efforts to support countries to make up lost ground,” said Aurelia Nguyen, Chief Programme and Strategy Officer for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “Our Alliance is committed to working with countries and communities alike to support efforts to catch up and restore immunization, focusing on responding to the unique needs of each child – and particularly those in hard-to-reach areas and fragile and conflict settings.”

At a high-level event during the African Union Summit in February 2023, African heads of state endorsed a declaration aimed at revamping and scaling up routine immunization across the continent. The declaration also called for urgent measures to address persistent bottlenecks in vaccine and health care delivery systems.

In a bid to recover from the pandemic’s disruptive wake, countries have made efforts to restore health services. Decreased vaccination levels have led to a surge in outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases such as measles, meningitis, diphtheria, polio and yellow fever.

Despite the disruptions, at least one third of African countries have sustained the target coverage of 90% or higher for the third dose of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine, and the third dose of the polio vaccine, over the past three years. However, only three countries have sustained this coverage for the second dose of the measles and yellow fever vaccines during the same period.

The region has also continued to step up the polio response. More than 30 million children were vaccinated against polio in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe in 2022, following wild poliovirus type 1 cases being reported in Malawi and Mozambique.

“The ambition to ensure that every child has access to essential vaccines by 2030 is still within our reach if we act now,” said Dr Moeti. “It is time for us to renew our commitment to this ambition and work together to restore and strengthen essential vaccination services to save the lives of millions of children.”

WHO held a press conference today led by Dr Joseph Cabore, Director of Programme Management, WHO Regional Office for Africa. He was joined by Hon. Dr Austin Demby, Minister of Health, Sierra Leone, Ms Aurelia Nguyen, Chief Programme and Strategy Officer for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; Dr Franklin Asiedu–Bekoe, Director of Public Health, Ghana Health Services; and Prof William K. Ampofo, Secretary of the Presidential Committee on Vaccine Manufacturing and Development, Ghana.

Also on hand from WHO Regional Office for Africa were Dr Phionah Atuhebwe, New Vaccines Introduction Officer; Dr Dorothy Achu, Team lead, Tropical and Vector-Borne Diseases; Dr Jamal Ahmed, Polio Coordinator; Dr Ado Bwaka, acting Team Lead, Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Programme; and Dr Patrick Otim, Health Emergency Officer, Acute Events Management Unit.

You Might Also Like

VillageReach Names Dr. Ahmed Ogwell As CEO To Drive Its 2030 Strategy

Trump’s Trade War: Prescription Drugs Become a Target

BPAN Unveils Free Healthcare Program for Nigerian boxers, signs MOU with NIH

More Than A Disease, TB Is A Symptom Of Underinvestment By Dr Allan Pamba

World Health Day: Prioritise Healthcare Funding, Healthy Food Policies, CAPPA Tasks Govt

TAGGED: Health, Polio Vaccines
INadminNG April 20, 2023 April 20, 2023
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp LinkedIn Telegram Email Print
Previous Article Eko Boys, Mushin To Host Ramadan Cup Final
Next Article At Christian Wake Keep, Families, Friends Extol Christ-Like Life Of Late Mrs Abigail Oluwole
about us

Independent News Express (iNews Express), a publication of 4Ds Nigeria Limited, is birthed out of the desires of the founding fathers to report News as it is.

We value Professionalism, Excellence, Service, Creativity and Integrity.

The Company

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy & Policy

Quick Links

  • Advertise with us
  • Newsletters
  • Deal

Categories

Find Us on Socials

© Independent News Express. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?