UN says funds threaten yellow fever immunization in Nigeria

A shortage of funds for yellow fever vaccine could result in the exclusion of people in Nigeria and Ghana from upcoming vaccination campaigns, according to a statement from UN agencies reaching here on Thursday.

UNICEF, WHO, the Red Cross and Medecins sans Frontieres are part of the International Coordinating Group on Yellow Fever Vaccine Provision.

At a meeting in Geneva to review progress, the group determined that additional funds were needed to maintain the global emergency vaccine stockpile for outbreak response and to reach an additional 120 million people at risk.

Some 61 million people have been immunized in West Africa since 2007, the statement said.

Yellow fever is a virus transmitted by mosquitoes, mostly during the rainy season.

According to WHO estimates, 200,000 cases and 30,000 deaths occur every year and recent outbreaks show that yellow fever virus had continued to circulate in Africa, as well as the Americas.

Source: Xinhua