Civil society organisations say the lives of some 7.2 million children are "on the line" as the finance minister continues to withhold release of N12.8 billion appropriated for immunisation in the 2016 budget.
The organisations which met in Kaduna with media to train in tracking budget for routine immunisation are concerned gains against vaccine-preventable could be reversed.
"We have less than five months to the end of 2016 yet nothing has been released for immunization, for procurement of vaccines and other logistics," said Dr Aminu Magashi, project director for Community Health and Research Initiative, part of the coalition Partnership for Advocacy for Child and Family Health, PACFaH.
"As a nation we cannot continue to depend on development partners to buy the vaccines we need in the country yet we have funds for such purposes in our budget.
“Delay in releasing Routine Immunization funds puts the country at risk of experiencing stock out of vaccines in few months, if the Ministry of Finance is unable to prioritise need to protect the lives of children under five years in the country," Magashi added.
Nigeria’s total contributions to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative amounted to $111 million between 2006 and 2013, according to the Stars report, but estimated funding required for eradication efforts is $170 million for 2016 alone.
The organisations said vaccines have helped Nigeria reduce deaths of children from preventable diseases as coverage of routine immunisation topped 87% in 2014.
But gaps require priority, said Chika Offor, coordinator of Vaccine Network Nigeria.
"In a time when the country is passing through a transition process from donor support, amidst unmet needs for Routine Immunization of childhood killer diseases like measles, meningitis, pneumonia, diarrhoea, the Ministry of Finance should understand that by virtue of Nigeria joining the Lower middle Income Countries (LMIC) with a GDP of about $510billion in 2014, the country will no longer enjoy the Global Alliance for Vaccine Initiative (GAVI) funding support for immunization which has made significant contribution to the country’s immunization," said Offor.
