Stakeholders on child health in Nigeria say Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) for Routine Immunization is yielding positive results in the country’s northern region.
According to them, the programme had led to over nine million routine immunisation coverage in the northeast and northwest geopolitical zones.
Comprising commissioners of health, permanent secretaries and executive secretaries of State Primary Healthcare Development Agencies, the stakeholders were drawn from Gombe, Jigawa, Bauchi, Adamawa, Taraba, Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, Katina, Kaduna and Kano states.
They made this known in two communiques after joint stakeholders’ meeting in Kano to review progress made in each region on the uptake of routine immunisation under the CCT programme.
The CCT programme of New Incentives – All Babies Are Equal (NI-ABAE) encourages supporting caregivers with monetary incentives to avail their children of routine immunisation.
“These vaccinations are provided at no cost to the caregiver through government-supported clinics.
“The cash incentives help compensate for transportation costs, lost income, and waiting times while creating behavioural change through awareness creation on the benefits of immunisations,” said one of the communique, jointly signed by Permanent Secretary, Gombe State Ministry for Health, Dr. Danladi Adamu and Representative to the Permanent Secretary, Jigawa State Ministry for Health, Hassan Kwalam and 32 others said.
Each family receives N500 for all routine immunisation visits except for the 9-month and 15-month visits, where the caregiver receives N2,000 upon receiving MCV 1, and the incentive is N1,000 upon receiving MCV 2.
“Small cash incentives are disbursed to beneficiaries during each of the six routine immunisation visits, conditional on infants receiving BCG (newborn), PENTA, and PCV (6, 10, and 14 weeks); and MCV vaccines (9 and 15 months).
“Though these vaccines are the ones minimally required to receive the incentive, all vaccinations in the routine immunisation schedule are encouraged,” the communique said.
Coordinated by the Gombe State and co-hosted by Bauchi, Jigawa, Adamawa, and Taraba states on reduction of child mortality through cost-effective and evidence-based health interventions, the communique added that since January 2021, the CCT programme had enrolled over 1 million infants, encouraged over 9.5 million vaccinations, and disbursed 2.3 billion Naira in over 4,000 government clinics in 124 LGAs.
“The Caregiver receives 500 for all visits except for the 9-month and 15-month visits, where the incentive is 2,000 upon receiving MCV 1, and the incentive is 1,000 upon receiving MCV 2.
On its part, NI-ABAE said it would continue to collaborate with governments of states across the country to ensure that all babies are protected from childhood diseases.
News Editor