Home News Meningitis: FG shops for $1.1bn to vaccinate 22m people
News - April 4, 2017

Meningitis: FG shops for $1.1bn to vaccinate 22m people

Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole

The Federal Government of Nigeria requires a total of $1.1 billion to tackle the outbreak of Cerebrospinal Meningitis in five states of the north, and children undergoing vaccination against meningitis in Nigeria.

Dr Emmanuel Odu, Acting Director-General, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, said the money is needed to vaccinate an estimated 22 million people in the affected states of Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina and Niger, which has resulted in the death of 328 people so far.

Odu spoke in Abuja, on Monday, while briefing Senate Committee on Primary Health Care and Communicable Diseases on measures being put in place by the Federal Government to tackle outbreak of the disease which has recorded 2,524 cases across 16 states of the country.

“To vaccinate a total population of 22 million in the five affected states will cost $1.1billion; the cost of vaccines alone. And if we are to procure for all the 16 states in the meningitis belt, we can roughly multiply it by the $1.1billion.”

According to him, of the doses being sourced with the $1.1billion from an Indian firm, 500,000 doses were delivered last week and 823,000 are being expected any time from now.

National Coordinator of National Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, said the vaccination would start tomorrow in Zamfara State, being the most affected area, followed by Sokoto.

 

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