President of the Paediatric Association of Nigeria, Prof. Ekanem Ekure has said that Nigeria disproportionately accounts for 2.2 million of the 4.4 million zero-dose children in West Africa, the highest in the world.
Ekure disclosed this while speaking at the Paediatric Association of Nigeria’s Children’s Art Competition on Immunisation to commemorate the 2024 Children’s Day in Lagos.
“We have the highest under-five mortality rate in the world, and unfortunately, these children are dying from diseases that can be prevented, for which the government has made vaccines available for free. Speaking on the choice of the theme “Investing in our Future means investing in our Children,” Ekure said: “Children are the future of any nation. Therefore, any effort to boost immunisation in children is securing the future of our nation. Coincidentally, the second phase of the human papillomavirus vaccination in Nigeria starts today in 21 states and will last for a week. This is for young girls aged 9–14 years to prevent cervical cancer and safeguard their future.
In her keynote speech, Vice Chancellor UniLag Professor Folasade Tolulope Ogunsola said their role was to nurture the children to grow up and become responsible leaders. “It is our corporate social responsibility and it is a way of getting ourselves protected from harmful disease. Immunization is a very viable tool to prevent infectious diseases. Vaccines have been made available for over thirty diseases, which are infectious diseases and what vaccines do.
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