Determined to change the narratives on access to health care services, especially at the local levels, the federal government yesterday engaged the traditional rulers in the country on sensitisation and advocacy on the need for the people to embrace government’s intervention on deadly but preventable diseases in the country.
The federal government specifically urged the traditional leaders to continue to advocate and sensitise the people on the need to be vaccinated against COVID-19, polio and Rotavirus in order to avert the spread of the virus.
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Minister of health, Osagie Ehanire who gave the charge at the Maiden Quarterly Review Meeting of the Southwest Traditional Leaders Committee on National Primary Health Care Delivery in Abuja yesterday said the country cannot succeed in the fight against dreaded virus and other health problems without the support of the traditional leaders.
He commended the efforts of the traditional leaders across the country on their collaboration in eradicating wild polo virus in the country, while urging them to repeat such efforts in the ongoing war against COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
“I want to commend your Majesties for agreeing to partner with the government on Primary health care delivery and for your passion and commitment to ensuring the wellbeing of Nigerians, especially the people of the Southwest zone.
“We are leveraging the respect our people have for tradition and culture and the influence of our traditional leaders, to improve the health and well-being of the people .
“The Federal government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari holds in high esteem our traditional institution, thus this partnership which we are consolidating today is in fulfilment of that high regard and respect.
“Our traditional institution is pivotal to whatever we do in all sectors, especially in health and government is conscious of the fact that alone, it cannot effectively safeguard the health of the people without the support of our Royal fathers.
“Traditional rulers across the country have been very supportive of government initiatives in the health sector especially in mobilization, disease surveillance and reporting. Our achievement of a wild polio virus free status in 2020 would not have been possible without the support of traditional leaders across the country.
“I look forward to this Committee intensifying our community mobilization efforts and advocating to our political leaders at all levels the unquantifiable benefits of investing in the health sector, particularly in primary health care, which is the closest to the people.
“I believe that working together will fast-track the achievement of our regional and national targets in Routine immunization, COVID-19 vaccination, polio eradication, and maternal and child health.
“Your Imperial Majesty, Royal Highnesses, I want to draw your attention to the fact the performance of most Southwest States in COVID-19 vaccination is suboptimal. I believe that bringing your influence to bear on the situation can change the narrative for the Southwest.
“This is why I am eagerly looking forward to your kickstarting the implementation of the MOU from today.
“May I use this opportunity to humbly remind your Royal Majesties to continue to sensitize your communities about the benefits of immunization and other PHC services, the risk of non-vaccination and in particular, to continue to promote COVID-19 vaccination in your domains”, he stated.
Speaking, the Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) Faisal Shuaib the traditional leaders to adopt an operational guide for members support to PHC programs and interventions (COVID-19 vaccination, polio, measles, yellow fever, rotavirus, all other routine vaccinations, maternal, newborn, and childhood nutrition) in the areas of role modeling, community advocacy, mobilization and sensitization, resource mobilization and monitoring.
He said; “On our part we will brief you on our various PHC programs so that collectively we can achieve better health outcomes for our dear country and especially the Southwest zone.
The NPHCDA boss informed the traditional leaders of the 2022 African vaccination week (AVW), saying it was a week set aside every year to promote vaccination and the benefits of vaccines.
“As you may recall, Nigeria was certified wild polio virus free on 25th August 2020, and this year marks the third-year anniversary of Wild Polio Virus (WPV) eradication in Nigeria, hence the Federal Government through the NPHCDA, will be recognizing and rewarding best performing states in Routine Immunization and COVID-19 as part of the AVW celebrations.
“Although Nigeria remains a wild poliovirus free country, we cannot afford to be complacent as we need to continue to guard our status.
“Moreover, there is an ongoing transmission of other forms of the poliovirus in the environment. Therefore, we have continued the polio campaigns”,.
He further noted that, since the certification of Nigeria as a wild poliovirus-free country, the Agency in collaboration with donors and development partners has acquired new tools and resources to ensure that the importation of Wild Poliovirus into the country is averted.
The Executive Director assured the gathering that the agency have deployed various interventions one of which is the outbreak response in order to ensure that all eligible children are protected.
According to him, the global community has attested that government alone cannot provide health care for the people, adding that the pivotal roles played by the Nigerian traditional institution goes way back with evidence showing the impact made by traditional institution in not just the Polio program but in other health interventions in the country.
He called on the royal fathers not to rest on their oars until the country defeat all forms of Polio and COVID-19 virus.
Continuing, he said Vaccine hesitancy due to low-risk perception has been the greatest bane in the effort to control COVID-19 transmission through vaccination.
“As of 23rd August 2022, Nigeria has successfully vaccinated 41,235,148 of its eligible population with the first dose and this represents 36.9% of its eligible population. The number of eligible persons who are fully vaccinated currently stands at 29,052,850.
“Therefore, the proportion of the total eligible population that have been fully vaccinated in Nigeria is 26%.
“This is a far cry from our target of vaccinating at least 70% of eligible population (18 years and above) by the end of the year. The Southwest zone performance in achieving this target is suboptimal, thereby requiring Your Majesties’ quick intervention. Our disaggregated state performance analyses also revealed that there are important state-specific bottlenecks that must be addressed in their various contexts for improved vaccine uptake”, he noted.
The Executive Director reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government through NPHCDA in ensuring that COVID-19 vaccines are made available for eligible Nigerians.
He said the agency will ensure regular consultations and updates to the traditional leaders to equip the traditional institution with credible information on the COVID-19 vaccination rollout as well as the status of Primary Health Care in the country through the quarterly review meetings.
Reminding those who are yet to receive or complete their vaccinations that COVID-19 vaccination is still ongoing in all states, he urged the Majesties to continue to promote Routine Immunization and COVID-19 vaccination in their kingdoms and communities.
On his part, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja who spoke unbehalf of the traditional leaders, said the royal fathers were not leaving every responsibility for government alone, stating that their efforts have brought a lot of successes in the zone on polio and COVID-19 eradication.
He said the traditional leaders will continue to lead the advocacy on polio, COVID-19 and other virus eradication in the country.
