The Chief of Field Office, United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF Enugu field office, Mrs. Juliet Chiluwe has said that vaccines remain one of humanity’s greatest achievements in the last 50 years, noting that essential vaccines have saved at least 154 million lives.
Mrs. Chiluwe made the disclosure in Enugu during a Two-Day Multi Zonal Media Dialogue on 2025 World Immunization Week (WIW) with the theme: “Immunization for All is Humanly Possible.”
UNICEF organised the Media Dialogue in collaboration with the Broadcasting Corporation of Abia State, BCA Umuahia, for journalists in the 12 states of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, Benue, Ebonyi, Enugu, Rivers, Delta, Imo, and Kogi.
She noted that UNICEF is keen on helping to promote and provide quality immunisation services to everyone, especially children. In commemorating the programme across the world, UNICEF also joins governments, health care providers, and development partners to promote the values of immunisation, emphasising that no child is left behind, reaching the last mile.
“UNICEF uses this opportunity to emphasize that Vaccines are proof that less disease, more life is possible when we put our minds to it. It’s time to show the world that ‘Immunization for All is Humanly Possible’.
“The 2025 theme reaffirms the feasibility and necessity of protecting everyone, from newborns to the elderly, against vaccine-preventable diseases, through inclusive and equitable immunization services.
“In all these efforts, UNICEF, in partnership with the media as a reliable ally and other development partners, continued to provide strategic and operational support in the following areas, advocacy, Communication, and Social Mobilization (ACSM).
“Others include Logistics and Cold Chain Support, Infrastructure Strengthening, such as establishing oxygen gas plants to strengthen health systems in states, and routine Immunization Support,” she said.
She commended the contributions of state governments, which complement UNICEF’s efforts in these areas. She urged them not to relent in the partnership but build momentum on progress made so far by continuing to provide budgetary allocations to ensure we get to the last mile, where every eligible child gets lifesaving vaccines to survive and reach their full potential.
In her presentation, the Health Specialist at UNICEF Enugu Field Office, Mrs. Ifeanyinwa Anyanyo, enumerated some of the challenges hampering accessibility to immunization, including insecurity, lack of awareness, proximity, logistics, and a bad road network.
In his address, the director general of the Broadcasting Corporation of Abia (BCA), Mr. Francis Nwubani said that this year’s theme is intended to advance the “Humanly Possible” campaign, focusing on the crucial need for increased vaccination rates, particularly among children.
Part of the commitment to ensure the success of the multi-zonal dialogue included pledges from participating journalists to monitor immunisation efforts in their respective states, especially in rural communities.
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