Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN) recommended routine immunization schedule for Nigerian children Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN) recommended routine immunization schedule for Nigerian children

Abstract

Vaccine preventable dis- eases are a major contributor to child morbidity and mortality espe- cially in the Sub-Saharan Africa and Nigeria in particular. It ac- counts for 17% of global total under -five mortality per year and 22% of child mortality in Nigeria. This im- plies that appropriate deployment of relevant vaccines would signifi- cantly reduce mortality and speed up the achievement of Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4). In this paper, the Paediatric Asso- ciation of Nigeria recommends a comprehensive routine immuniza- tion schedule for children of all ages striking a delicate balance be- tween optimal immune response generation and avoidance of undue exposure to high risk environment; while avoiding neutralization by maternal antibodies.