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Fred Ezeh, Abuja
National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), on Tuesday, announced that the technical assistance to the European Union Support to Immunisation Governance in Nigeria (EU-SIGN) project has come to successful completion.
The EU, in a statement, confirmed that it committed €63.5 million which was used for immunization programmes in 23 states between 2011 and 2019.
It said that EU-SIGN helped to consolidate gains and successes of predecessor projects particularly the EU Partnership to Reinforce Immunisation Efficiency (EU-PRIME) which was implemented between 2002 and 2009, and the EU support for Strengthening Routine Immunisation in Kano (EU-SRIK), executed between 2007 and 2011.
It said the project also enhanced immunisation logistics by building the capacity of 1, 036 health workers and managers for routine immunisation, supported polio eradication activities and expanded vaccine cold chain and storage capacity with 757 solar direct-drive solar refrigerators, 46 new and renovated cold stores and health facilities, and 29 four-wheel-drive vehicles.
The EU was particularly happy that project was embedded in the NPHCDA and was implemented by public officials, to ensure sustainability, accountability within the government system and most importantly, enable government workers continue to implement the strategies even after EU support ends.
NPHCDA Executive Director, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, appreciated the EU for the intervention that changed health care indices for good.
He confirmed that there are cold chain and cold room infrastructure and equipment that were built and installed several years ago that are still functional and are being maintained by government workers.
He assured the EU that government will sustain the spirit and ensure that Nigerians are given the opportunity to get proper immunization for healthy living.
Meanwhile, the EU-SIGN national team leader, Dr. Yisa Ibrahim, said the implementation model of the project used existing government structures and systems to function.
He added: “It demonstrated that with good leadership and accountability, government business can be conducted efficiently and effectively, to achieve the desired results.”
