"Nigeria: Pediatricians Seek Routine Immunization for Hib"
Africa News Service (www.allafrica.com) (07/02/02)

Nigerian government officials are being urged to include the
Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine into the national
immunization program.  Speaking last week at a Hib conference
sponsored by the Pediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN) and the
drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline, PAN president Kike Osinusi asserted
that since Hib conjugate vaccines were introduced in the late
1980s and incorporated into national immunization programs in
many developed and some developing nations, morbidity and
mortality from the disease have dropped significantly.  Osinusi
presented a paper, titled "The Burden of Hib Disease: A Case for
Inclusion in the National Programme on Immunization," in which
she stated that immunization is the best means of controlling the
deadly disease.  According to Osinusi, "The vaccines that
effectively control the rising incidences of mortality and
morbidity from Hib disease are available, and can be provided by
the GAVI, but government has to show commitment, and capability
of handling and distributing it to those most in need of it