Save the children international organizes a four day advocacy brief development workshop to produce advocacy on funding for human resources for health and policy in Kano and Lagos states.
Delivering his welcome address to stakeholders from Lagos and Kano states, representative of the country director SCI, the Chief of party Dr Olatunde Adesoro said that the organization is working in over one hundred and twenty countries including Nigeria to ensure all children survive, learn and are protected.
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Dr Adesoro said that Save the children international (SCI) which gave rise to a four year (2024 – 2025) project “tagged” better opportunity for optimal services and targeted immunization for zero dose and under immunized children known as the “Boost project” funded by Glaxo Smith Kline in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health is committed in implementing the projects in Alimosho and Ikorodu LGAs of Lagos state and Ungoggo and Gezawa LGAs in Kano state.
He said the essence of the boost project was to develop an action plan for the implementation of advocacy activities in reducing zero dose (ZD) vaccination in selected LGAs in Kano and Lagos states respectively.
Representative of the Country Director added that the design of the project kicked started a year a ago.
“As you all know the foreign Aid is shrinking we also have the supreme court judgement of the local government autonomy for money to be available at that level, we all know that immunization falls within the purview of primary health care, we have more money at the local government level which is a good thing particularly on immunization, he stated.”
Dr Adesoro said that it is the right time for advocates to put their evidences together to convince the authorities to invest more on immunization, we are not asking them to put money, we are asking them to invest in order to have a return of investments.
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The representative of the Director General, National primary Health Care Development Agency Mrs Jimmy Agnes delivering her good will message appreciated the effort of SCI for coming up with the event, critically looking at how to have a policy on immunization in both states of Lagos and Kano states.
She urge that every child deserves the right to a safe nurturing supportive environment.
It is our collective responsibility to ensure the protection and empowerment of the children, she emphasized”.
Representative of the Kano state ministry of health Dr Nura Muhammad Ganduje said that the advocacy brief event came in at the right time seeing that Kano has the highest burden of under immunized children in the state, As it will enhance in addressing the issues through more advocacy for policy makers to put in more resources on immunization, maternal and child health to reduce the burden of zero dose children in the state.
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Representative of the Lagos state Ministry of health as well chairperson Lagos state Accountability Led Mechanism (LaSMA) Desk Mrs Idris Nike Highlighted on what they do as well as her counterpart in Kano state the co – chair of community of practice on immunization budget tracking and Accountability Mallam salisu Yusuf both were of the view that the advocacy brief will go a long way in holding the government accountable in terms of tracking of funds for immunization as well as strengthening the health indices of zero dose children in the states.
On his part, Mr ola gave an insight on the Ask the Nivi application which was introduced to the participants on its importance for under served communities of Kano and Lagos in terms of making enquires regarding to health care services.
While Dr itunu, Mallam magama and innocent Ekene were among the resource persons that conducted the facilitation for a period of four days.
