ASHENEWS reports that the interim CEO of Gavi, the Alliance, David Marlow, says that 2.3 million out of the 10.2 million zero-dose children in the world are in Nigeria.
This online platform reports that zero-dose children are those who have not received a single shot of a routine vaccine.
Marlow stated this on Monday at the opening ceremony of the Third International Conference on Public Health, taking place in Zambia.
“After the pandemic, the number of zero-dose children has increased versus the pre-pandemic period in 2019. Most of these zero-dose children are on the African continent, with Nigeria having 2.3 million zero-dose children out of 10.2 million.”
He said that countries must focus on routine immunization to address the widening gap.
He identified technology and innovation as key factors that would help accelerate the growth of vaccine adoption.
He said that the alliance was currently processing an innovative financial instrument that would help accelerate African vaccine manufacturing via support for local vaccine manufacturing.
