By Haruna Gimba
As the Global Alliance for Vaccine Initiative begins a five-year roll to wind down its support paying for vaccines used in routine immunisation in Nigeria, young people have added to the call for the Federal Government to develop a sustainable plan to domestically fund vaccination for children.
In a communiqué at the end of a retreat for Routine Immunisation Youth Champions representing Kaduna, Kano, Bauchi and Niger states, the youth called on the federal government to channel some of the recovered stolen monies to fund pressing health issues in the country, including immunization and strengthening of primary healthcare centres.
The youths also advised the Nigerian Government to increase budgetary allocation to Immunization during the GAVI transition period to bridge possible immunization funding gaps in Nigeria, as well as innovative financing through taxes.
Health Reporters gathered that the young people are part of accountability mechanisms for maternal and newborn health set up in the respective states by the Community Health and Research Initiative (CHR), a member of the Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health (PACFaH).
