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Tag: Dr Walter Kazadi Mulomboo

  • WHD: WHO launches Fourth Cooperation Strategy to enhance healthcare for Nigeria

    WHD: WHO launches Fourth Cooperation Strategy to enhance healthcare for Nigeria

    By Joyce Remi-Babayeju

    The World Health Organization , WHO, had launched its fourth Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS), on healthcare services in Nigeria to enhance healthcare for citizens.

    WHO Nigeria Country Representative, Dr. Walter Mulombo disclosed the development on Monday, at the Policy Dialogue and Town Hall meeting in commemoration of this year’s World Health Day in Abuja.

    The CCS is part of functions for programme budget and operational planning, which facilitates coordination with the United Nations Country Teams and other partners.

    Mulombo who listed , the fourth CCS strategic priority said that it will include, Advance PHC approach and essential health systems capacities for equity and gender equality across all levels to progress Universal Health Coverage.

    “Improve Equity’ and quality in health system coverage and financial protection through support to the delivery of integrated people centered health services across the life- course.”

    “Address root causes of ill health including determinants and risk factors to tackle the rising burden of NCDs, mental health, violence, and injuries.”

    “Build institutional capacities for research, local production of health products, information and data systems, and use of digital technologies for health.”

    “Prevent, mitigate and prepare for emerging risks to health and rapidly detect and sustain an effective response to all emergencies including humanitarian crisis, climate threats, antimicrobial resistance, and other environmental health hazards.”

    According to him, the CCS was co-created under the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Health in collaboration with all the partners including CSOs to provide support towards implementation of the Nigeria Health Renewal Investment Program.

    He stated that WHO will continue to work with the Government and NGOs to ensure that together, we can promote health, provide health and protect the health of all Nigerians for greater economic development.

    CCS is a medium -term strategic framework for WHO’s technical cooperation with a given Member State.

    Daybreak reports that the first WHO Nigeria CCS was developed in 2000 and the fourth being launched had been developed to cover 2023 to 2027.

  • WHO lauds Nigeria’s 55% malaria deaths fall

    WHO lauds Nigeria’s 55% malaria deaths fall

    By Joyce Remi-Babayeju

    The World Health Organization, WHO, Representative for Nigeria, Dr. Walter Kazadi Molombo has lauded Nigeria over efforts at bringing down it’s malarial deaths by 55% and malaria incidences by 26% .

    Mulombo gave this commendation during the launch of the 2022 Nigeria Malaria Report yesterday in Abuja.

    Mulombo stated that although Nigeria accounts for around 27% of the global burden of malaria cases, but the country has recorded major progress in improving the health of its population.

    ” Malaria incidence has fallen by 26% since 2000 – from 413 per 1000 to 302 per 1000 in 2021. Malaria deaths also fell by 55%, from 2.1 per 1000 population to 0.9 per 1000 population.”

    Speaking further, Mulombo disclosed that the country has recorded progress on HIV between 2015 and 2021, meeting two of the 95-95-95 goals, and tuberculosis, adding that the country’s intervention coverage is improving, with increasing case detection over the same period.

    He stated that Nigeria’s population size is also a challenge on scaling up interventions.

    “Surveillance systems, which pick up less than 40% of the country’s malaria data; inadequate funding to ensure universal interventions across all states; and health seeking behaviour, where people use the private sector, with limited regulation, preferentially.”

    Meanwhile, the WHO Nigeria Lead, said that The 2022 Malaria Report on Nigeria is an excellent model to use data to prioritize health interventions.

    Using data, we can prioritize and target interventions, optimize allocation of resources and facilitate the monitoring of performance at federal and state levels, Mulombo stressed.

    The Malaria report is a compendium of critical information and data on the status of malaria in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, in Nigeria .

    “It provides data at the State level to guide a truly subnational response to malaria, providing an overview of the malaria situation across all States, focusing on population demographics, malaria interventions, climate, and disease burden, Mulombo explained.

    Thew Report is a collaboration between the Nigeria Malaria Elimination Programme, the WHO Regional Office for Africa, and the Global Malaria Programme.

  • 33m Children In Nigeria Missed Vaccination During COVID-19 – WHO

    33m Children In Nigeria Missed Vaccination During COVID-19 – WHO

    ….Africa needs to vaccinate 33m children to achieve 2030 global immunization goals

    By Joyce Remi-Babayeju

    WHO Country Representative to Nigeria, Dr. Walter Mulombo has said that an estimated 6.2 million children in Nigeria , between 2019 and 2022 were unvaccinated because of the negative consequences of COVID-19 pandemic.

    Mulombo dropped this hint today at the World Regional WHO Medial Round Table meeting in Abuja today to mark the African Vaccination Week, AVW, celebration 2023 with the theme, ” The Big Catch Up”.

    Reaching these children would require renewed and intensified efforts by Government and partners, he emphasized.
    WHO further stated, pro- activeness of the Government of Nigeria and the National Primary Health Care Agency for implementing the Optimized Outreach Sessions, integration of Routine Immunization during COVID-19 vaccination, Measles and Yellow Fever Supplementary Immunization Activities. These are key for the reduction in the high burden of zero dose children in Nigeria and aligns the theme for the 2023 AVW celebration.
    Also he disclosed that Africa needs to vaccinate 33 million children between 2023 and 2025 to put the continent back on track to achieve the 2030 global immunization goals which includes reducing morbidity and mortality from vaccine-preventable diseases.

    He noted that due to the African Region the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the African Region routine immunization services the number of unmet vaccination unmet children rose by 16% between 2019 and 2021 to 33 million representing nearly half the global estimate.
    He hinted that in an effort to break the bottlenecks in vaccines and health care delivery, African Heads of State endorsed a declaration aimed at revamping and scaling up routine immunization across the continent during an African Union Summit in February, 2023.

    ” To realize this declaration, this year African Vaccination Week and World Immunization Week, from 24–30 April, with the theme “The Big Catch-Up” has been announced,”

    ‘This is a global push by WHO and partners to intensify efforts to reach children who missed vaccinations, as well as to restore and strengthen routine immunization programmes.”

    . The Big Catch Up” is actually a year-long campaign aiming to reverse the serious setbacks in routine immunization, Mulombo said.

    WHO called on community leaders to take responsibility to organize and participate fully in the conduct of immunization sessions including monitoring uptake of vaccines in the community.
    As well as Traditional, Religious Leaders and Civil Society Groups to mobilize the community to always demand and access immunization services.

  • WHO calls for renewed efforts to eradicate polio in Nigeria in 2023

    WHO calls for renewed efforts to eradicate polio in Nigeria in 2023

    By Joyce Remi-Babayeju

    The World Health Organization, WHO, has called for renewed commitments by all key players in the vaccines sector to interrupt and maintain zero cases of the cVDPV2 polio strain in Nigeria in 2023.
    WHO Country Representative Dr. Walter Kazadi Mulombo via zoom made this call yesterday in Abuja at the 39th Experts Review Committee on Poliomyelitis and Routine Immunization in Nigeria,

    Dr. Mulombo said, “As partners, I believe we achieved a tremendous success so far in Polio eradication in Nigeria, and we are going to put all our effort in making sure that we eradicate Polio in Nigeria.”

    “Reaching and sustaining zero cases of cVDV2 in Nigeria in 2023 is achievable, however would demand more efforts on our part.”
    We would count on the validation of next steps by the Expert Committee Members and participants to reach the finish line for cVDPV2 interruption in Nigeria in 2023, Molumbo said.

    Chairman of Expert Review Committee on Polio and Routine Immunization, Dr. Akin Osibogum noted that Nigeria has recorded a good success in eradication of Polio with the support of partners resulting in 85% drop in incidences of cPV2 in Nigeria.

    Dr Osibogun said; “The challenge for us right now is to harness all the available resources in achieving zero Polio that is our goal, and focus on the strategies, including strengthening routine immunization and strengthening the primary health care systems as well as improving on our surveillance capability.”

     
    The Executive Secretary, Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Faisal Shuaibu said that the NPHCDA ,donors and partners were committed to ensuring that there is zero Polio cases in the year 2023.

    Dr, Shuaibu said; “today we gathered here to work out modalities to ensure that the plan to eradicate Polio in Nigeria is sustained. In the last few years, we experienced Circulating Variants of Polio Viruses in some state due to low Immunization routine in those states.”

    “He called for engagements with partners and donors to fine-tune plans that will eradicate every single form of Polio cases in Nigeria by end of 2023, whether it is cVpV2, VPV2.”

  • COVID-19: Nigeria not disqualified from accessing vaccines- WHO

    COVID-19: Nigeria not disqualified from accessing vaccines- WHO

    …only  black country  to receive largest allocation of 16m doses of AstraZeneca vaccines

    By Joyce Remi-Babayeju

    The World Health Organization, WHO, Representative in Nigeria Dr Walter Kazadi Mulomboo has denied rumours that Nigeria  has been  disqualified from access COVID 19 vaccines.

    This was revealed today at a meeting held in Abuja

    Mulumbo said, “WHO has not disqualified any country in Africa from accessing COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX facility, but rather is supporting all countries to access vaccines as quickly as possible.”

    According to him, presently  all  African countries including Nigeria  are expected to start accessing the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines by the end of February, stressing that the vaccine is under review by WHO for Emergency Use Listing and the outcome is expected soon.

    Meanwhile out of the 88 million AstraZeneca doses allocated to African countries for the first phase, Nigeria has received by far the largest allocation, with 16 million doses, WHO revealed.

    Explaining  further , Mulumbo said that in addition to this Nigeria  was among 18 countries considered to  finally get an  initial Pfizer doses.

    On the Africa continent, as of the 18 January deadline, COVAX received 13 submissions and a multi-agency committee evaluated the proposals of which 9 were recommended as ready to deploy the Pfizer vaccine including Nigeria, the WHO representative explained