Firms Partner To Enhance Vaccine Access In Nigeria

By
Kazeem Tunde
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493
A baby girl watches a health worker inject a vaccine against measles into her arm at a hospital in Bossangoa, the town where a national immunization campaign is being launched. The Government, UNICEF and partner NGOs are providing vaccines against measles to children under five at 885 locations around the country.In December 2008 in the Central African Republic, a Government-launched immunization campaign supported by UNICEF and several NGOs administered measles vaccines to over 660,000 children under the age of five. As part of the campaign, UNICEF also distributed soap and insecticide-treated mosquito nets to over 740,000 children and their mothers. The efforts aim to improve child survival in one of the world’s least developed countries, where access to health care and clean water is now also disrupted by an ongoing civil conflict. Over 17 per cent of children die before their fifth birthdays, many from malnutrition, waterborne diseases or vaccine-preventable illnesses. In the past year, UNICEF has responded to multiple health crises in the country, including yellow fever outbreaks, by supporting hand-washing campaigns and immunization programmes. The immunization campaign against measles was launched in Bossangoa, a town in the conflict-affected north-western region.

Firms Partner To Enhance Vaccine Access In Nigeria

 

Project Last Mile, a public-private partnership that shares Coca-Cola’s expertise to support African governments in the delivery of life-saving medicines and supplies to the communities that are most in need, has launched a cold chain equipment maintenance project in Lagos.

The project, still in its pilot phase, is to support Lagos State’s immunisation programme through sharing refrigeration maintenance expertise from Coca-Cola’s experience.

The state government has, therefore, partnered with the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) and Coca-Cola to strengthen public sector refrigeration or “cold chain” capacity in the state to improve access to vaccines.

Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, Dr. Lateef Lawal, said: “This partnership is an example of our commitment to carrying out our mandate to provide quality health care delivery in Lagos State…”

Managing Director of NBC, George Polymenakos, said the company’s efforts are in line with the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company’s (CCHBC) 2025 sustainability commitments, which seek to address areas of most material importance for society as well as for the CCHBC business.

Project Director for Project Last Mile, Adrian Ristow, noted: “We are excited at the potential to develop Project Last Mile’s work in Lagos State in cold chain equipment maintenance into a model that can be replicated in other parts of Nigeria, as well as across Africa.”

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