From Godwin Duru
A Non Governmental Organization, The New Incentives – All Babies Are Equal Initiative’s says the use of incentives has boosted the number of children vaccinated against killer diseases.
National Coordinator of the group, Dr Obinna Ebirim stated this on a visit to Governor Bello Masari at Government House, Katsina.
Dr Ebirim said the group’s initiatives including giving cash incentives to households, community mobilization, conditional cash transfers, sensitization and defaulter tracking in Katsina State.
“Thank you Your Excellency for the support Katsina State has provided for the program since we began here in 2017. We are proud to have a great partner in you in this journey to save the lives of Katsina children from vaccine-preventable deaths”
“Immunization is one of the most important public health interventions known to mankind, saving up to 3 million lives globally every year. Our program increases demand for routine childhood immunization through an evidence-based intervention that includes community mobilization, sensitization, conditional cash transfers, and defaulter tracking”
“An independent impact assessment of our program from 2017 to 2020 revealed that children in areas with the New Incentives’ intervention in Katsina State were 15 to 28 percentage points more likely to have received vaccinations against deadly diseases, such as Measles, Tuberculosis, and Diphtheria, than children in control areas”.
Responding, Governor Bello Masari promised to champion the conditional cash transfer for immunization and urged the group to intensify its activities in other Northwest states.
In a remark, Commissioner of Health Yakubu Nuhu Danja stressed that the initiatives of the NGO had strengthened routine immunization coverage in the state.
