The governor of Katsina State, Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari has reaffirmed the state’s support for New Incentives – All Babies Are Equal Initiative’s (NI-ABAE) conditional cash transfers for routine immunisation programme in the State.
He made this known while speaking during a courtesy visit by advisors and staff of New Incentives to him at the Katsina state Government house penultimate week.
The new incentives – All Babies Are Equal Initiative has been operating the conditional cash transfers for routine immunization programme in Katsina state since 2017. Since its inception, the programme has enrolled over 110,000 infants whose caregivers have received more than 320 million in direct cash disbursements.
This is in addition to new incentives indirect investments in the State’s economy, such as the over N65 million spent in 2020 alone on salaries, engagement of community helpers, taxes, and purchase from local markets in Katsina state. New Incentives conditional cash transfer programme has led to a significant increase in the likelihood that a child in areas where the programme operates will receive vaccinations against deadly diseases, even be fully immunized according to the national immunization schedule. This is an incredibly important feat as north western Nigeria has one of the lowest childhood immunization rates in Nigeria.
Speaking at the event, the National Coordinator of new incentives, Dr. Obinna Ebirim, said, “Thank you your Excellency for the support Katsina state has provided for the programme since we began here in 2017.
“We are proud to have a great partner in you in this journey to save the lives of Katsina children from vaccine-preventable deaths. Immunization is one of the most important public health interventions known to mankind, saving up to 3 million lives globally every year.
“Our programme increases demand for routine childhood immunization through an evidence-based intervention that includes community mobilization, sensitisation, conditional cash transfers, and defaulter tracking. An independent impact assessment of our programme from 2017 to 2020 revealed that children in areas with the new incentives’ intervention in Katsina state were 15 to 28 percentage points more likely to have received vaccinations against deadly diseases, such as, measles, tuberculosis and Diphtheria, children in control areas.”
The event was also attended by the Katsina state commissioner of Women affairs, Haj. Rabiya who is an advisor at new incentives – All Babies Are Equal Initiative, the state commissioner for health, Engineer Yakubu Nuhu Danja, the Executive Secretary of Katsina State primary health care Agency, Dr. Shamsuddeen Yahaya and the Stakeholder Relations Director of All Babies Are Equal Initiative, Malam Nura Muhammad.
The Katsina state commissioner of health, Engineer Yakubu Nuhu Danja, commended new incentives for their support in strengthening routine immunization and raising vaccine coverage in the state and reiterated the willingness of all ministries, departments and agency under the state ministry of health to support the target to expand to 7 more LGAs in the state, while saving the lives of over 200,000 infants in Katsina state.