The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has announced plans to vaccinate at least 3.8 million children against measles across four northern Nigerian states.
During a press conference in Bauchi on Friday, Patrick Akor, Health Officer at UNICEF’s Bauchi Field Office, disclosed that the campaign will start on Saturday and last for seven days.
He specified the locations, saying, “The four northern states where the integrated measles campaign will take place are Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, and Plateau.” Akor added, “For the measles campaign, we have a target of 3.8 million children aged nine to 59 months across the four states. We have received over 4 million doses of measles vaccines, which have been supplied across these four states.”
In addition, UNICEF will roll out an oral vaccination drive against polio in five northern states. Akor stated, “For the oral polio vaccination, we have a target of 6.8 million children aged zero to 59 months, which is under five years, across the five states of Taraba, Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, and Adamawa.
The total number of vaccines that have already been delivered is 7.4 million doses across these five states. We are aiming to ensure that no child is left behind; all children of eligible age should be reached and vaccinated.”
Akor called on media professionals to spread awareness, particularly in grassroots areas, to ensure families are informed.
Supporting the call, George Eki, a Social and Behavioural Change Specialist at UNICEF’s Bauchi Field Office, underscored UNICEF’s commitment to helping the Nigerian government protect children from measles and other preventable diseases.
“There is logistical support we provide to the states. We have made vaccines available across the states for the campaign, and some other commodities are also made available through UNICEF’s support,” Eki explained. “The cold chain system that supports the cooling and storage of vaccines has also been provided by UNICEF.
More importantly, advocacy, communication, and social mobilization are core areas of UNICEF’s mandate in this exercise, where we provide support to all the states to ensure that people are informed about when the campaign will happen. Through this, people also learn about the age bracket of children eligible for vaccination, as well as where to go or how to receive the vaccine.”
