From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
A leading non-profit organisation,New Incentives – All Babies Are Equal (NI-ABAE), has announced that it has provided cash incentives totalling more than ₦7 billion to over two million caregivers in the North East and North West regions of Nigeria.
This initiative, which began in 2017, aims to increase childhood vaccination rates in the country.
During the Joint States Stakeholders Meeting held in Kano, Mubarak Muhammad Bawa, the Operations Coordinator of NI-ABAE, emphasised the success of the program.
According to him, “the program provides cash incentives to caregivers in northern Nigeria to increase childhood vaccination rates. When caregivers bring their infant in for routine immunisations, they are provided with a small cash incentive and information about the importance of vaccinations for the overall health of their children”, he said.
Bawa in a statement made available to newsmen Birnin Kebbi explained that, the program operates in government clinics in partnership with state and local governments, as well as immunisation partners.
“To date, the program has achieved remarkable results, with more than two million enrolments from 163 Local Government Areas covering 48,795 settlements and 5,240 clinics across the targeted states.
Bawa further stated that NI-ABAE is committed to expanding this successful intervention to other states across the federation, ensuring an improved rate of vaccination throughout the country.
Abubakar Aliyu Danmafara, the Director of Health Planning, Research and Statistics at Sokoto State Ministry of Health, expressed satisfaction with how the program is enhancing immunisation in Sokoto.
According to him, “before the launch of the All Babies Program in Sokoto, there were challenges regarding the turnout of caregivers for immunisation, especially for children under two.
“However, since the implementation of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) by NI-ABAE, the vaccine uptake has significantly increased. The mindset of our communities is also shifting positively, and our service providers, once reluctant due to low attendance, are now more motivated.”
Prominent officials present at the event, including permanent secretaries and commissioners from Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Gombe, and Bauchi states and they also commended the NGO on the positive impact of the program on their people during interviews with journalists.