Save the Children calls for action against under-5 mortality rate in Nigeria

In commemoration of World Immunization Week, Save the Children International Nigeria has called on governments and stakeholders at all levels to accelerate actions toward reducing and ending the under-5 mortality rate of children from vaccine-preventable diseases.

In a statement released on Thursday, the organization noted that the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) carried out by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in 2021 indicated that about 1 in 10 children in Nigeria die before their 5th birthday.

It, therefore, called on all stakeholders to strive to ensure that no child dies from preventable causes before their fifth birthday.

According to Save the Children, immunization saves millions of lives, and it is recognized as one of the world’s most successful health interventions.

It, however, noted that the benefits of vaccines are fully realized when children receive all recommended vaccine doses in a timely manner.

“Immunization coverage in Nigeria is below the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) goals, i.e., only 36% of children aged 12- 23 months received all recommended vaccines and 18% did not receive any, putting a substantial number of children at risk of vaccine-preventable diseases.

“Substantially more children are fully vaccinated in the southern zones compared to the northern zones, according to the National Immunization Coverage Survey (NICS), 2021.

“Therefore, we would like to urge all stakeholders to continue to build strong political commitment for increased immunisation coverage and other primary healthcare interventions, thus contributing to increased domestic investment in health to meet the Abuja Declaration of 15% (2011) as against the present 8% budgetary allocation to health by Nigeria in 2023 at the national level.

“Save the Children will work with partners and stakeholders towards ensuring that increased health spending directly improves child health services, including removing catastrophic health spending, reducing non-financial barriers to accessing care, and prioritizing primary health services in Nigeria,” the statement partly read.