Abia Targets 111,000 Unvaccinated Children in ‘Big Catch Up’ Programme

Korede Abdullah in Lagos

The Abia State Primary Healthcare Development Agency has launched the ‘Big Catch Up’ immunisation programme to vaccinate over 111,000 children who missed their routine vaccination in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Abia State Immunisation Officer, Mrs Chinwe Èké ọn Friday, the programme aims to capture children who have not received immunisation from birth because of COVID-19.

“We discovered 111,000 children who have not received our antigens in Abia State,” she said, identifying six local government areas as the most affected.

The affected local government areas include Arochukwu, Aba South, Umunneochi, Obingwa, Osisioma, and Ohafia, with a total of 111,000 unvaccinated children.

Eke reported that 30% of the target number has been captured in the past five days of the programme, with plans to capture the remaining 70% in the next phase in January and February 2025.

“The data we have generated for the past five days is 30% of children aged two years to 59 months, that took Penta 1, Immuno polio vaccine (IPV), and Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV),” she explained.

The ‘Big Catch Up’ programme is sponsored by UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

However, Eke noted that the programme was adversely affected by the delay in payment of workers’ stipend, which she attributed to bureaucratic bottleneck.

Despite this challenge, she said the Abia State Primary Healthcare Development Agency remains committed to ensuring that all eligible children in the state receive the necessary vaccinations.