The federal government has commenced free vaccination of children below one year of age in the country with RotaVirus vaccines.
Global health report showed that Rotavirus is one of the leading causes of diarrhoea disease in the world and is responsible for over 40 per cent of the infection in children.
Speaking at the official national flag-off of Rotavirus vaccine introduction into routine immunisation at Area 2 Primary Health Care Clinic Garki, Abuja, the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) Dr. Faisal Shuaib, said approximately 50,000 deaths occur in children under five years in Nigeria annually as a result of Rotavirus infection.
He described Rotavirus as the most frequent cause of severe diarrhoea, accounting for about 215,000 of the global 525,000 under-5 mortality attributed to diarrheal diseases each year.
He said Nigeria has the second highest number of deaths from rotavirus, accounting for 14 per cent of all childhood rotavirus deaths worldwide.
Shuaib said: “Introduction of Rotavirus vaccine is a big investment due to its substantial economic impact and number of lives that the country is going to save from the introduction.
“It is projected that while reducing the associated morbidity and mortality from the rotavirus infections, the rotavirus vaccine introduction has the potential to avert over 110,000 deaths over a 10-year period.”
On the nature of the immunisation exercise, Shuaib said the vaccine would be given orally and would be administered concurrently with the existing Routine Immunisation (RI) vaccines at six weeks, 10 weeks and 14 weeks respectively.
He added only children of one year and below could administered the vaccine.
According to the NPHCDA boss, the vaccine would be integrated with other diarrhoea preventive strategies, such as, “exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of life,
Vitamin A supplementation, handwashing, sanitation, and other key household practices, case management including the use of zinc- ORS to prevent dehydration, continued feeding, and treatment services for diarrhea and other childhood diseases.”
He urged parents and caregivers to take their eligible children to the nearest Primary Health Care Center for the vaccine and other routine vaccines that are in the system until their children are fully vaccinated.
He maintained that Rotavirus vaccine was free, safe and effective at preventing diarrhoea disease caused by the Rotavirus.
The launch coincided with the flag off of the African Vaccination Week which is a week-long affair that improves access to basic Primary Health Care Services, routine immunisation, COVID-19 vaccination, deworming, Vitamin A supplementation, medical outreach services to our teaming rural populations.
In his statement at the event, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Country Representative, Dr. Walter Kazadi Mulombo said the introduction of the Rotavirus vaccine provides the opportunity to reduce the number of children dying every day from diarrhoea disease.
He said the public health impact of rotavirus vaccine introduction had been demonstrated in several countries with as much as 50 per cent deaths from diarrhoea diseases averted in some.
Mulombo advised that the introduction of the vaccine should be part of a comprehensive strategy to control diarrhoea diseases with the scaling up of both preventive and treatment packages.
According to him, Nigeria stands to have enormous gains from the economic impact of the introduction of free Rotavirus vaccine.
The commemoration of the African Vaccination Week with its team ‘Long Life for All” was intended to provide a platform to increase awareness on the importance and values of immunisation and its life saving potential.
A Pediatrician and professor at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Dr. Becky Tagbo who recounted the health risk being faced by Nigerian children before the introduction the vaccine, said the prevalence of Rotavirus were as high as 70 per cent.
In her remark, the Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ramatu Tijani said there has been a remarkable improvement in health statistics in the city, following its earlier poor rating on basic hygiene indices.
Buhari, AGF, others dragged to court over alleged unlawful interference in NDDC
President Muhammadu Buhari, and four others have been dragged before a Federal High Court, Abuja, over their alleged unlawful interference in the operations of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The suit brought by an aggrieved indigene of the Niger Delta region from Imo State, has President Muhammadu Buhari, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), and Minister of Justice, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs as 1st to 5th respondents respectively.
The suit filed by an Abuja-based lawyer, Mr. Felix Ekengba, claiming that the respondents lacked the legal powers to interfere in the day-to-day operations of the NDDC as it’s been done by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Umana Umana.
In the suit filed on August 19, the plaintiff accused the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs of unlawfully assuming the helms of affairs at the Commission, in contravention of the law.
Plaintiff in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1458/2022 therefore prayed the court for an order restraining the respondents from further interfering in the activities of the Commission.
Specifically, the plaintiff wants the court to bar Umana from further acting as NDDC’s MD or interfering with the agency’s operations since he has no power under any law to do so.
Other reliefs, sought by the plaintiff in the suit filed on behalf of himself, include a declaration that by virtue of Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 2 of the NDDC’s Act, 2000, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry not being part of the persons mentioned in Section 2 of the NDDC’s Act cannot interfere or usurp the powers of the board and management of the commission without an amendment to the NDDC’s Act by the National Assembly.
Ekengba also applied for a declaration that the interference and intervention of the 3rd to 5th respondents, was contrary and in breach of Section 4 of the Constitution and Section 2 of the NDDC’s Act and that any purported acts done by them are unconstitutional, illegal, null and void and should be set aside.
He further sought another order of perpetual injunction restraining the 3rd to 5th respondents from interfering, usurping, controlling or issuing directives to the management and staff of the NDDC.
In a 16- paragraph affidavit he deposed to in support of the suit, Ekengba who claimed to be an environmental rights activist and a legal practitioner as well as an indigene of the Niger Delta region, asserted that he was being affected by the alleged unlawful interference of the Minister in the operations of the commission.
He further claimed that Buhari as Nigeria’ s President, who swore to uphold the provisions and tenet of the 1999 Constitution, was under obligations to ensure the enforcement and compliance with all Acts of the National Assembly, including that of the NDDC.
He further averred that the Minister of Niger Delta affairs was aiding and abetting the president in breaching the clear and extant provisions of the 1999 Constitution by seeking to interfere or usurp the powers of the board and management of the NDDC contrary to Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 2 of the NDDC’s Act.
Plaintiff asserted that Buhari by an administrative fiat allegedly amended the provisions of Section 2 of the NDDC’s Act by appointing the Niger Delta Minister, Niger Delta Ministry and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry as governing board members of the NDDC without amending the law to accommodate them.
He alleged that in carrying out the unconstitutional fiat, the Minister, Ministry and Permanent Secretary wrote a letter to the NDDC seeking to interfere and usurp the powers of the board on August 8, 2022 by requesting for personnel audit and bio-data of the commission.
The legal practitioner also asserted that the 3rd to 5th respondents inaugurated a committee on the compressive staff audit of the NDDC filed a letter of August 15, 2022, adding that the Minister on August 17, issued directives on the day-to-day running contrary to the clear position of the law.
Insisting that what the 3rd to 5th respondents were seeking to carry out was unconstitutional, the plaintiff prayed the court for an order restraining the respondents from interfering, usurping, controlling or issuing directives to the management and staff of the NDDC since doing so run contrary to section 4 of the Constitution.
Meanwhile no date has been fixed for hearing in the suit
