The United Nations Youngsters’s Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday mentioned Nigeria presently bears the best burden of unvaccinated youngsters globally.
A Well being Officer at UNICEF, Bashir Elegbede, disclosed this throughout a one-day media dialogue in Damaturu, Yobe State, to commemorate the 2025 World Immunisation Week.
In accordance with Mr Elegbede, about 2.1 million Nigerian youngsters—representing 24 per cent of the estimated 8.7 million under-one inhabitants—haven’t obtained a single routine vaccine dose.
He mentioned these youngsters are known as “zero-dose” (ZD) youngsters as a result of they haven’t obtained any vaccine in accordance with the nationwide routine immunisation schedule.
The worldwide goal, he famous, is to cut back the variety of zero-dose youngsters by 25 per cent by 2025 and 50 per cent by 2030.
“The under-one inhabitants in Nigeria is estimated at 8.7 million, with 2.1 million of them (24 per cent) categorized as zero-dose youngsters,” he mentioned.
“This highlights that Nigeria bears the best world burden of zero-dose youngsters. Decreasing the variety of zero-dose youngsters—those that haven’t obtained any routine vaccination, is essential for enhancing public well being outcomes in Nigeria.”
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Mr Elegbede famous that these youngsters are principally present in areas affected by battle, local weather change, and the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to in hard-to-reach areas, city slums, and communities with weak well being methods.
Significance of vaccination
Mr Elegbede added that unvaccinated youngsters face a better danger of contracting and dying from vaccine-preventable illnesses resembling polio, measles, meningitis, yellow fever, and viral hepatitis.
He harassed that vaccines are important to defending youngsters’s well being and improvement.
“Internationally, hundreds of thousands of lives have been saved by vaccines,” he mentioned.
“Sadly, Nigeria has the best burden of zero-dose youngsters globally, with Borno and Yobe states recording a disproportionate quantity.”
He famous that UNICEF and different well being sector stakeholders are supporting the Nigerian authorities in strengthening routine immunisation and enhancing well being methods throughout the nation.
Yobe and Borno interventions
In 2024, UNICEF supported Yobe State in vaccinating about 20,000 zero-dose youngsters with the pentavalent vaccine, which protects in opposition to diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenzae sort B.
Mr Elegbede mentioned volunteer neighborhood mobilisers working with UNICEF have additionally helped cut back non-compliance to immunisation to lower than one per cent throughout settlements in Yobe.
In Borno State, he mentioned, 145,000 zero-dose youngsters have been reached with vaccines, whereas an extra 165,000 youngsters throughout the North-east have been focused within the Huge Catch-Up marketing campaign carried out in March and April 2025.
“Of this quantity, 138,000 youngsters—representing 95 per cent—have been efficiently vaccinated through the BCU carried out in March. The third part of the marketing campaign is predicted to conclude this April,” he mentioned.
Conventional leaders pledge assist
Additionally talking on the occasion, the Emir of Damaturu, Shehu Hashimi II Ibn Umar Al-Amin El-Kanemi, recommended UNICEF’s efforts in lowering the variety of unvaccinated youngsters in Nigeria.
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Represented by the Waziri of Damaturu, Maisanda Lawan, the Emir pledged continued assist for the vaccination drive throughout the state.
“The Emir stays dedicated to this trigger and can proceed to make sure that vaccines attain each neighborhood,” he mentioned.
World Immunisation Week is commemorated yearly from 24-30 April to lift consciousness concerning the significance of vaccines and to extend entry to immunisation providers worldwide.
Below the theme “Immunisation for all is humanly potential”, the World Well being Organisation mentioned this 12 months’s marketing campaign stresses how, with collective efforts and funding, everybody could be shielded from vaccine-preventable illnesses.
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