According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), vaccine-preventable diseases are still present in the nation.
Dr. Ifedayo Adetifa, director general of the NCDC, made this statement on Sunday during a pre-recorded broadcast for Channels TV that airs every Monday and in which he also discussed the agency's plans for resolving the problem.
For a variety of diseases that can be prevented by vaccination, he claims that Nigeria is suffering as a result of low vaccination rates.
This is due to a number of issues, particularly in semi-urban and rural locations where residents are reluctant to make them available.
The head of the NCDC indicated that diseases like cholera, meningitis, and yellow fever continue to have a negative impact on people's health in the nation because the COVID-19 pandemic also halted the impetus for immunisation. Health organisations are now resuming their awareness programmes.
“We have had historical challenges with vaccination coverage just as the country seems to be gaining some momentum with concurrent efforts to strengthen routine immunization and then conduct mass campaigns in response to areas to we know that are under covered,” Adetifa said.
“Of course with COVID, people were afraid of going to the hospital. There were disruptions to immunization – both routine and planned campaigns.
“What now we are seeing is that we are now paying the price for the gaps that occurred then. What we are keeping our eyes on at the NCDC is not what the headlines reflect.”
Adetifa stated that the agency is "expecting an optic as the rains become established" when discussing the cholera outbreak in the nation. Unfortunately, we are already prepared for meningitis and the recurrence of the Lassa Fever before November.
He clarified that, in advance of the holiday season, the NCDC is also taking action to limit COVID-19 and Omicron.