As the world marks Immunization Week, C-Advocate takes a peep into legal frameworks supporting free immunization in Imo state.
Imo State has established a robust legal and policy infrastructure to support immunization programs, integrating national guidelines with localized strategies to improve vaccine coverage.
The state’s approach combines legislative backing, partnerships, and community engagement to address systemic challenges and ensure equitable access to immunization services.
Imo state aligns with Nigeria’s Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), introduced in 1978, which mandates routine immunization for children under two.
The state also adheres to the National Immunization Policy and operational guidelines from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), which provide a framework for vaccine distribution, cold chain management, and healthcare worker training.
These national policies are reinforced through the Imo State Strategic Health Development Plan (SSHDP) 2010–2015, which prioritizes immunization as part of a broader maternal and child health package.
The Imo State Health Financing Policy, developed with World Health Organization (WHO) support, institutionalizes funding mechanisms for immunization under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) agenda.
This policy enables sustainable financing through the state’s Mobile Health Insurance Programme, which covers 96% of the informal sector and reduces out-of-pocket expenses for families seeking vaccinations.
Additionally, the SSHDP mandates immunization services at Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs), emphasizing infrastructure upgrades and workforce capacity building to ensure reliable vaccine delivery.
Legal frameworks facilitate collaborations such as the U.S. Embassy-supported COVID-19 vaccination campaign, which demonstrated a model for scalable immunization drives.
Governor Hope Uzodinma’s administration has prioritized stakeholder engagement through Local Government Area (LGA) meetings, ensuring culturally sensitive campaigns and addressing vaccine hesitancy.
The governor’s public participation in vaccination programs further legitimizes immunization efforts, fostering community trust.
The SSHDP incorporates monitoring and evaluation (M&E) indicators to track immunization coverage, with periodic reviews conducted by state and international partners.
PHCs are legally required to maintain immunization registries, and digital tools like mobile platforms are increasingly used for appointment reminders and coverage tracking.
These measures aim to address disparities, such as the 63.6% full immunization rate among children under 12 months in Owerri, which remains below the WHO’s 80% target.
Despite progress, legal frameworks face implementation gaps in rural areas like Ideato North, where only 18.9% of children were fully immunized as of 2017.
The SSHDP’s outreach component aims to bridge this divide by deploying mobile clinics and training community health workers, but inconsistent record-keeping and resource allocation persist.
Legislative efforts to decentralize PHC management seek to improve accountability in these regions.
Immunization laws are nested within broader health sector reforms, including the Imo State Health Insurance Scheme, which indirectly supports vaccine uptake by reducing financial barriers to healthcare access.
The state also aligns with the National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) metrics to evaluate coverage, reporting a 62% full immunization rate in 2013—the highest in Nigeria at the time.
Strengthening legal provisions for rural PHC funding and data transparency remains critical.
Studies recommend codifying maternal education initiatives and paternal support programs into law, as these factors significantly influence immunization compliance.
The state could also expand its COVID-19 partnership model to pediatric campaigns, leveraging existing frameworks for measles and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines.
Imo, and Nigeria at large, cannot afford to slack; the task before us as a nation is enormous as ‘health is wealth’.