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2.2 Million Nigerian Children Unvaccinated — UNICEF

Published

1 year ago

April 21, 2023

An immunisation report released on Thursday by the United Nations Children’s Fund finds that 67 million children across the world missed out on either some or all routine vaccinations between 2019 and 2021, and 48 million children did not receive a single dose during this period.

The report showed that as of the end of 2021, India and Nigeria – with very large birth cohorts, had the largest numbers of zero-dose children but increases in the numbers of zero-dose children were especially notable in Myanmar and the Philippines.

India leads the world with the largest number of 2.7 million children with zero doses, followed by Nigeria with 2.2 million unvaccinated children.

New data indicates declining confidence in childhood vaccines of up to 44 percentage points in some countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, service disruption caused by strained health systems and diversion of scarce resources, conflict and fragility.

The public perception of the importance of vaccines for children declined during the COVID-19 pandemic in 52 out of 55 countries studied, UNICEF warned in the report.

These factors include uncertainty about the response to the pandemic, growing access to misleading information, declining trust in expertise, and political polarisation.

The report titled ‘The State of the World’s Children 2023: For Every Child, Vaccination’ reveals the perception of the importance of vaccines for children declined by more than a third in the Republic of Korea, Papua New Guinea, Ghana, Senegal and Japan after the start of the pandemic.

In the new data, collected by The Vaccine Confidence Project, China, India and Mexico were the only countries studied where the data indicates the perception of the importance of vaccines held firm or even improved. In most countries, people under 35 and women were more likely to report less confidence about vaccines for children after the start of the pandemic.

“In Angola, Nigeria and Papua New Guinea, a child from the wealthiest group in society is at least five times more likely to be vaccinated than one from the poorest group. The children who are not vaccinated are also often the children of mothers who have not been able to go to school and who are given little say in family and spending decisions,” the report showed.

“At the height of the pandemic, scientists rapidly developed vaccines that saved countless lives. But despite this historic achievement, fear and disinformation about all types of vaccines circulated as widely as the virus itself,” said UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell. “This data is a worrying warning signal. We cannot allow confidence in routine immunizations to become another victim of the pandemic. Otherwise, the next wave of deaths could be of more children with measles, diphtheria or other preventable diseases.”

The report showed that vaccination coverage levels are decreasing in 112 countries.

“Children born just before or during the pandemic are now moving past the age when they would normally be vaccinated, underscoring the need for urgent action to catch up on those who were missed and prevent deadly disease outbreaks.

“In 2022, for example, the number of measles cases was more than double the total in the previous year. The number of children paralysed by polio was up 16 per cent year-on-year in 2022. When comparing the 2019 to 2021 period with the previous three-year period, there was an eightfold increase in the number of children paralysed by polio, highlighting the need to ensure vaccination efforts are sustained,” the report read in part.

To address this child survival crisis, UNICEF is calling on governments to double down on their commitment to increase financing for immunisation and to work with stakeholders to unlock available resources, including COVID-19 funds, to urgently implement and accelerate catch-up vaccination efforts to protect children and prevent disease outbreaks.

News

Tribunal Restrains MultiChoice From hiking DStv, Gotv Subscription Rates

Published

11 mins ago

April 29, 2024

Editor

A Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal sitting in Abuja, on Monday, issued a restraining order on Multi-Choice Nigeria Limited from increasing its tariffs and cost of products and services.

Multi-choice had last week announced a price increment across its DStv and GOtv packages effective May 1, 2024.

The pay-TV company claimed the price hike was due to the cost of business operations in Nigeria.

A three-member tribunal, presided over by Saratu Shafii, gave an interim order following an ex-parte motion moved by Ejiro Awaritoma, counsel for the applicant, Festus Onifade.

The tribunal, in a ruling, restrained Multi-Choice from going ahead with the impending price increase schedule to take effect from May 1, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed before it.

“The 1st defendant is hereby restrained from taking any step(s) that may negatively affect the rights of the claimant and other consumers in respect of the suit pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice,” Shafii declared.

She, therefore, directed all parties in the suit to appear before the tribunal on May 7 at 10 am for the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

The lawyer in the suit marked: CCPT/OP/2/2024, had dragged Multi-Choice Nigeria Ltd and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) before the tribunal.

In the suit filed on April 29, Onifade, also a legal practitioner, sought two orders.

These include, “an order of interim injunction of this honourable tribunal restraining the 1st defendant whether by themselves, her privies, assigns by whatsoever name called from going ahead with impending price increase schedule to take effect from 1st May 2024, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

“An order restraining the 1st defendant from taking any step(s) that may negatively affect the rights of the claimant and other consumers in respect of the suit pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.”

Other members of the tribunal include Thomas Okosun and Dr. Umar Duhu.

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OPINION: Between Mike Adenuga And Prometheus

Published

2 hours ago

April 29, 2024

Editor

By Lasisi Olagunju

The Greek word ‘philos’ means ‘love’, and ‘anthropos’ means ‘man’ or ‘humanity.’ The Englishman came across those two words, combined them and came up with ‘philanthropy’ – ‘love of mankind.’ The Ancient Greek was a nation of great thinkers. World civilizations inherited from these great people rare knowledge preserved in myths, folktales and legends of heroes. They clothed their myths with assumptions and beliefs that have endured centuries of interrogations and reviews. One of those is their insistence that one of their titans, Prometheus, was the very first philanthropist.

And I ask how? ‘Prometheus’ as a Greek name means ‘Forethinker’. One writer says we should not be tired of celebrating him because “he loved us. He helped us. He defied the other gods and suffered for us.” To Timothy Wutrich, American Professor of Comparative Arts, Prometheus is “the polymath, creative genius, and philanthropist” who rebelled against Zeus to save humanity. What exactly is that thing he did?

The Greek in their myth say man was created naked and vulnerable in a hostile world of privileged beasts. But Prometheus, who was present during creation, took a deep look at the helpless creature, thought of what to do, fished out fire from where Zeus hid it and gifted it to Man. Classical Greek dramatist, Aeschylus (524-455 BC), in his ‘Prometheus Bound’ casts him as humanity’s “preserver” who gave us “all the arts and sciences as well as the means of survival.”

The immediate past president and chief executive officer of The Pew Charitable Trusts, Rebecca W. Rimel, on 28 April, 2001, addressed a joint meeting of the American Philosophical Society, the Royal Society and the British Academy on what she called the strategy of charity. At that proceeding, she addressed the Promethean fire philosophy. She explained ‘fire’ as that long-term solution that addressed the root of a problem: “The gift of fire,” Rimel explained, “transformed the world. Fire did not simply permit a few people to enjoy a hot meal and a warm shelter on the day it was given. It was a new tool that could be used forever to help humans make their often-hostile environment more accommodating…” She suggested that ‘fire’ could stand for education, for knowledge, skill. It could wear the dress of the master going the extra mile of teaching his protégés how to fish. She added that “philanthropy is not simply a kind attitude – it also implies a certain kind of approach” which we see in the myth of Prometheus. She proceeded to sit Prometheus with Thomas Jefferson and the American founding father’s profound belief that “a free nation could remain free only if its people were educated.” She alluded to Jefferson’s 1808 “ardent desire to see knowledge” in every man.

When Globacom chairman, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr., turned 70 last year. I wrote a column and gave reasons why I did: his patriotism; his calls of commendation to me – and his kindness across all divides. Recently when Air Peace appeared buffeted by vicious tides of competition, I wrote and likened that company’s intervention to Globacom’s epochal entry into telecoms in Nigeria. I said before Globacom, there was exploitation from outsiders and Nigerians were made victims in their own country. The Nigerian telecoms subscriber was the pre-Prometheus man – naked and helpless. Then, Mike Adenuga’s company made its grand entry in August 2003 and its Promethean fire broke the chains. It was amazing how miserably the padlocks of brutal exploitation surrendered. My triumphant people would say they’d seized the enemy’s àgádágodo – the ones clothed with tiger skin and the ones hidden in hides of alligator (aláwo ekùn, àt’aláwo agílíntí).

Adenuga and his Globacom came with a string of firsts that have been mentioned repeatedly. Someone asked why those acts of patriotism are repeatedly told as stories, I answered that Nigerians of today who are thirty years and younger were too young in August 2003 to appreciate the battle won for them by Adenuga 21 years ago. They need to be told repeatedly that it happened. Read again Thomas Jefferson’s dictum which I quoted above: A free nation can only remain free if its people are educated. I add that education includes adequate knowledge of our history.

Today again, Adenuga celebrates his 71st birthday. I read many testimonies of his unannounced public-spiritedness last year when he clocked 70. I am reading (and savouring) refreshingly new ones this year. The stories of his activities are so much like the Promethean story: philanthropy that clothes the naked and addresses the roots of people’s poverty; charity that ennobles humanity and extends the frontiers of knowledge, friendship, love and kindness. The book of his benevolence includes chapters on scholarships and endowments in arts and science. Ask universities around; ask the Alliance Francais in Lagos. Ask the rescued widow in the backwaters of Yewa whose story changed forever. Ask me: I know (and I have heard) of people he dazed with kindness whom he did not give the opportunity to say “thank you.” As he does his Godly thing his quiet way, we will keep telling the world in our own loud words that he represents the best of humanity.

I wish him a happy birthday and very many more years of sweetness as his vintage wine grows in richness.

News

2024 UTME: JAMB Withholds Results Of 64,624 Candidates

Published

2 hours ago

April 29, 2024

Editor

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, on Monday, announced the release of the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

The Registrar of the Board, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, made this known during an ongoing press briefing in Bwari, Abuja.

Oloyede also noted that the results of 64,624 out of the 1,904,189 who sat the examination have been withheld by the Board and will be subject to investigation.

The Board Registrar noted that though a total of 1,989,668 registered, a total of 80,810 candidates were absent.

“For the 2024 UTME, 1,989,668 candidates registered including those who registered at foreign centres. The Direct Entry registration is still ongoing.

“Out of a total of 1,989,668 registered candidates, 80,810 were absent. A total of 1,904,189 sat the UTME within the six days of the examination.

“The Board is today releasing the results of 1,842,464 candidates. 64,624 results are under investigation for verification, procedural investigation of candidates, centre-based investigation and alleged examination misconduct.”

Oloyede also said the Board, at the moment, examines nine foreign centres namely: Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Buea, Cameroon; Cotonou, Republic of Benin; London, United Kingdom; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Johannesburg, South Africa.

“The essence of this foreign component of the examination is to market our institutions to the outside world as well as ensure that our universities reflect the universality of academic traditions, among others. The Board is, currently, fine-tuning arrangements for the conduct of the 2024 UTME in these foreign centres.”

Details later…