Taraba cuts zero-dose children to 4%, records 74.5% skilled births

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By Femi Bolaji

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JALINGO — Taraba State has reduced the proportion of children who have not received any routine vaccination, known as zero-dose children, from 24 per cent to four per cent, the Taraba State Primary Health Care Development Agency (TSPHCDA) has disclosed.

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The agency also said the state had recorded a significant increase in skilled birth attendance, from 54.7 per cent to 74.5 per cent, indicating improved access to maternal and child healthcare services.

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The Executive Secretary of TSPHCDA, Dr Tukura Nuhu, disclosed this during a media briefing in Jalingo.

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Nuhu said Taraba had also emerged as the best-performing state in Nigeria in the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Measles-Rubella vaccination campaigns.

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He attributed the achievements to ongoing reforms in the state’s primary healthcare system, including the recruitment of 450 health personnel, 336 emergency ambulance staff and the approved engagement of 480 community-based health workers.

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According to him, the state has also revitalised 113 primary healthcare facilities across all wards under the IMPACT project.

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He added that three regional healthcare centres had been upgraded by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), while 13 facilities had benefited from interventions supported by the Global Fund and UNICEF.

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However, Nuhu warned that sustaining the gains would require the state government to urgently address operational challenges confronting the agency.

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He identified inadequate counterpart funding, poor budget releases, lack of permanent office accommodation and unpaid electricity bills at the state cold stores as some of the major challenges.

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The TSPHCDA boss stressed that timely financial commitments and improved logistics were essential to sustaining the progress recorded in the state’s healthcare sector.

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He warned that failure to address the challenges could undermine the gains made and jeopardise opportunities for further support from donor agencies.

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