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Nigeria says meningitis vaccination is free

Xinhua, April 7, 2017 Adjust font size:

The Nigerian government on Friday said vaccination for meningitis is free throughout the country and asked Nigerians not to pay for it.

The Executive Director, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib, said this in a statement sent to Xinhua in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub.

Shuaib advised citizens to report any health center or health worker who extorts money for the on-going meningitis immunization to the nearest law enforcement agency after reports of money extortion practices by some health workers and civil society organizations.

He added that some health workers were alleged to have extorted money and other forms of incentives from members of the public before being vaccinated against Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM).

Shuaib said the vaccination against CSM, like other vaccination in the National Immunization schedule, is free.

Others are Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus toxoid (Pentavelent vaccines), Haemophilus influenza type B, Pneumococcal vaccines, Inactivated Polio virus vaccines, Measles, Yellow Fever.

The federal government had made available 500,000 doses of meningitis vaccines, and is still expecting the delivery of additional 823,000 doses to curtail the outbreak.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian House of Representatives has resolved to investigate government's handling of the recent outbreak of Meningitis in parts of the country.

The lower chamber mandated its Committee on Healthcare Services to invite the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, to brief it on the ministry's efforts combating the scourge.

The committee was also mandated to ensure there was no scarcity of the vaccine to treat patients and report back to the house within two weeks.

The number of states affected by the outbreak of cerebrospinal meningitis, an acute inflammation of the meninges of the brain and spinal cord, has increased to 17 states across Nigeria.

The outbreak has so far claimed more than 330 lives across Nigeria, the most populous African country, according to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control. Endit