By Ojoma Akor:
With the backdrop of dwindling donor funding, experts have enjoined states to develop strategies for effective resources mobilization for immunization, primary health care and other health needs.
They gave the advise in Abuja during a workshop Organized by Vaccine Network for Disease Control(VNDC).
Chika Offor , the Chief Executive Officer of the Vaccine Network for Disease Control , said that it was critical to create strategies to strengthen primary health care at sub-national level using using domestic resources, adding that there was no budget line for vaccine logistics in some states.
She said, ” We are also looking at inclusion of Public Private Partnerships ( PPP) as a domestic resource approach, because donors funding is shrinking. We have to now look inwards to make sure that we take charge of our vaccine story. So now the most important thing is that we have developed solutions. It is now for everyone to go and implement it. Also in other to have health for all , the primary health care ( PHC) systems have to be strengthened.”
She said VNDC brought relevant stakeholders from the various states together to identify what their challenges were in terms of immunization financing at the state level as well as strengthening the PHC systems.
Offor stated that the workshop was a peer learning opportunity , using lessons learnt from Ekiti state, which has been successful in raising domestic resource through PPP.
She added that the organization was implementing programm for domestic resources for immunization and phc, in five states: Kano, Bauchi, Jigawa, Adamawa and Gombe.
Dr Rilwan Mohammed , Executive Chairman, .Bauchi state primary healthcare development board, (BSPHCDB) said key challenges to immunization financing and PHC strengthening in states include inadequate human resources, lack of budget lines and budgetary releases among others .
He highlighted that the USAID funding freeze earlier in the year makes it expedient for sub-national levels to shore up local funding for the health sector.
He said making vaccines available for children is crucial especially with the burden of zero- dose children in Bauchi State and other parts of the country.
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