Date: 2017-09-27

The Nigerian Medical Association has said that Nigeria has poor immunisation rates when compared to its population.

The group stated that such a development was unhealthy to national security, wellbeing and growth. It identified insurgency, unavailability of vaccines, cultural and religious beliefs as some of the militating factors.

The NMA President, Dr. Mike Ogirima, represented by the Chairman, NMA, Anambra State, Prof. Jude Enejulu; and Chairman, NMA, North-Central Zone, Dr. Kunle Olawepo,noted this during the association's wellness programme which had in attendance the Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

The wellness programme was part of activities marking the 2017 national physicians' week, tagged, "Declining Immunisation Coverage: Threat to National Security and Development: Way Forward."

Ogirima and Olawepo called for concerted efforts to increase immunisation across the country. They stated that immunisation would improve the health and wellbeing of children.

Ogirima said, "The problem of insurgency, arms attacks and resistance is the major reason why immunisation has declined.

"Olawepo, who is also NMA Kwara branch chairman said, "We know that initially immunisation coverage increased but somewhere along the line because of attitude, non-availability of vaccines and inability of medical workers to reach difficult areas like where there is terrorism and some religious and communal beliefs, immunisation reduced.

"There are even people who believe that immunisation may lead to diseases. So, over the last five years, we have found out that there is declining coverage of immunisation compared with the increasing growth in population of the country."

The President, West African College of Surgeons, Prof. King-David Yawe, who said immunisation depended largely on the people's understanding of its importance, also called for more advocacies so that parents would realise that their children would not miss out on such health programmes.