In a world where routine immunisations have become the backbone of childhood healthcare, some children continue to be denied the right to survive due to the ignorance of their caregivers. Gom Mirian focuses on Kano State, Nigeria, where many people are still oblivious to the dangers of not immunising their children.
“Vaccines? I didn’t know they were important,” Abubakar Haruna, a 38-year-old father of 11, admits with a heavy sigh as he recounts his past choices. Despite being a regular at a healthcare centre as a motorcycle rider, he was unaware of the importance of routine immunisation. His lack of knowledge and the resulting denial of vaccinations to all eleven of his children have left them vulnerable to the potentially deadly grip of childhood killer diseases that could have easily been prevented through immunisation.
Abubakar’s story reflects a larger problem within Kano State, where 300,000 children, according to UNICEF, are deprived of life -saving benefits that routine immunisations provide. Even though immunisations are free and compulsory for children under five in Nigeria, many caregivers like Abubakar neglect to have their kids vaccinated.
“My wives both gave birth to our children at home, ” he explained to African Health Report (AHR). “I didn’t know they required shots for polio, measles, hepatitis and TB, among other illnesses.
“It never occurred to me that my children’s lives were at stake,” Abubakar confesses, with remorse in his eyes. “I have been coming to this healthcare ccentre daily to pick up those seeking medical care but I have never been informed about vaccines since all my children were delivered at home. But now that I’m aware, please allow me to go and bring my two-week-old kid first,” he said as he zoomed off on his motorcycle.
The implications of such ignorance are dire. Children in Kano State face an increased risk of contracting devastating diseases such as measles, polio and meningitis. These ailments can leave lifelong consequences or, in worst-case scenarios, claim young lives.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), more than 600,000 children in Kano, Katsina and Jigawa are yet to be immunised against deadly diseases. So what could be the reason for reluctance of the caregivers in these areas to embrace immunisation?
The nurse in charge of the Tudun Wada General Hospital Routine Immunisation (RI) where Abubakar works as a biker, Mallam Abdulwasiu Adamu Yakubu, shed light on the challenges they face.
“Addressing misinformation and overcoming cultural beliefs takes time and concerted effort,” he stated, adding that “parents need to be educated about the importance of immunisation.”
AHR had earlier reported on the dangers related to not immunising babies in line with the government approved schedule. Read here
He further said: “We have been working with the traditional, and religious leaders in the communities to raise awareness about the dangers of preventable diseases and convince parents to bring their children in for routine vaccinations.
“Although our facility serves more than eleven communities, we lack storage space for our vaccines. The solar refrigerator in our facility hasn’t worked in more than 15 years. Nevertheless, we transport vaccines from the LGA cold chain every day and return the leftover stock regularly. Although we have complained to the authorities, nothing seems to have changed.”
According to state statistics on routine immunisation, 41% of children in Tudun Wada, a Local Government Area (LGA) of Kano State, lack vaccines. To change the narrative, some concerned community members are making a concerted effort to close the information gap and dispel myths about vaccines.
Community volunteers have established awareness campaigns, neighbourhood outreach programmes, and door-to-door activities to inform caregivers like Abubakar about the significance of vaccines.
28-year-old Nafiu Adam Yukubu is one of the community volunteers who has given five years of his time, free of charge, to working around the clock in the community to ensure children have access to potentially life-saving immunisations.
“I was moved by the measles outbreak in my community, which claimed the lives of many children, including my cousin. I also learned that the only way to avoid this disease is via vaccinations. By appealing to parents, especially males who do not believe in immunisation, on how it will prevent their children from starting a family in the future, on the importance which has changed people’s thoughts, the decision was to save lives.”
Dr. Abubakar Lanran Yusuf is the Kano State Commissioner for Health. In an interview with AHR, he noted that the state’s present porous immunisation system is a result of the damage done to the structure by the previous government.
According to him, the high number of children in the state were not immunised mostly due to the previous administration’s failure to provide vaccines to the relevant LGAs of the state.
“We had a very robust structure that was able to protect the children then. But unfortunately, when we left, it didn’t get the needed attention it deserved, and we have now inherited a structure of routine immunisation that is not functioning.
“300,000 children is a huge number, and the fact that there were supposed to be easy things done to avoid this, but there weren’t, is so annoying because we are now on the verge of an epidemic. Child and maternal mortality will increase in Kano if you let this figure climb further.
“They neglected to provide vaccines to the local government areas where they were needed, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I arrived and saw many vaccines that had already expired. This is precisely what occurred in Kano State.
“To urgently restore the routine immunisation structure in the state, however, we are working diligently in collaboration with traditional rulers and religious leaders, building on initiatives set out by UNICEF,” he said.
Until parents like Abubakar are educated about the importance of immunisation, children in Kano State will continue to be denied their right to survive. The government, healthcare workers and community leaders must take action to ensure that every child has access to life-saving vaccines. The stakes are simply too high to ignore.
