For UNICEF the pandemic is important but “other deadly diseases, such as measles, also threaten the lives of millions of children”

“Tackling the global Covid-19 pandemic is essential. However, other deadly diseases” such as polio and measles “also threaten the lives of millions of children in some of the poorest regions of the world,” warns the UN Fund. for children (Unicef) and WHO in a joint statement released Wednesday in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. In recent years, there has been “a global resurgence of measles with ongoing outbreaks in all regions of the world. Vaccine coverage gaps have been further exacerbated by Covid-19 in 2020,” according to UNICEF and WHO. , calling for “urgent action” from donors and global policymakers.

The situation in Nigeria, and its nearly 200 million people, is cause for concern: although the country was certified wild polio free in August 2020, it “remains at risk of polio and measles episodes due to” poor improvement. in vaccination coverage, “the statement said. Only 54% of children in Nigeria, for example, received the first dose of the measles vaccine, according to 2018 data. On Monday, Nigerian authorities announced a sudden spike in cases of yellow fever and deaths, a deadly disease but for which there is a vaccine, in two regions of the South. In the neighboring region of Benue, at least 17 people have died in recent days from an as yet unknown disease, according to reports on Wednesday. by local media.