The Federal Capital Territory Primary Health Care Board, FCT PHCB, has pledged full support for the rollout of the Direct Delivery of Routine Immunisation Vaccines and other PHC Commodities for Equity, DRIVE, initiative in the Territory.
The initiative, facilitated by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, and UNICEF, is aimed at reducing the number of zero-dose, unvaccinated and under-immunised children across Nigeria.
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It is also designed to improve the availability of vaccines and other primary healthcare commodities, reduce out-of-pocket expenses by health workers and strengthen supportive supervision at health facilities.
Speaking at an entry meeting with the NPHCDA, UNICEF and FCT PHCB management, the Executive Secretary of the Board, Dr Dan Gadzama, said immunisation remains a foundation of the Board’s activities.
Dr Gadzama said the importance of immunisation makes it necessary for the Board to fully support the DRIVE initiative and ensure that vaccination services are not compromised.
He charged the implementing team to promptly escalate any challenges that could hinder the successful implementation of the initiative to the appropriate authorities.
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The DRIVE Consultant, Muija Othman, said the initiative is currently being implemented in six states across Nigeria, while scale-up is ongoing in 13 other states.
She said the engagement with the FCT PHCB was aimed at securing the leadership’s support and commitment for the successful implementation of DRIVE in the Federal Capital Territory.
Othman requested high-level leadership and coordination of DRIVE activities during the rollout, as well as the integration of the initiative into existing planning, supervision and review platforms.
She said such integration would promote sustainability and ownership of the initiative, while also ensuring adequate support for FCT PHCB personnel during implementation.
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The DRIVE initiative is expected to improve the availability of vaccines and other essential primary healthcare commodities, strengthen vaccination and cold-chain services, and contribute to reducing gaps in immunisation coverage.
The stakeholders expressed commitment to working together to ensure effective implementation of the initiative and strengthen primary healthcare delivery in the FCT.