The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation and development partners have intensified efforts to identify and vaccinate zero-dose children in underserved communities in Abuja, with about 100 mothers in Ruga, Abuja, awaiting immunisation for their children.
The initiative, supported by Gavi and implemented with community-based organisations, seeks to close immunisation gaps by reaching children who have never received routine vaccines, particularly those in hard-to-reach and mobile communities.
Speaking during an immunisation exercise in Abuja on Friday, Chika Offor of the Vaccine Network for Disease Control described the exercise as a significant step towards eliminating zero-dose children in Nigeria.
Offor said some of the children brought for vaccination were more than 12 months old but had never received even their first dose of the pentavalent vaccine, while some younger children aged six to eight weeks were also receiving their first vaccines.
“I see today as a day of freedom for these children because all those who need vaccines now have access to them and are receiving them,” she said.
She explained that the intervention also involved using KoboCollect to identify zero-dose children, capture information and reconcile community-level data with health facility records.
“Our most important goal is to eliminate the zero-dose challenge that has given Nigeria the stigma of having about two million zero-dose children,” Offor said.
Also speaking, the Grants Manager at Mannion Daniels, Denisa Nguyenova, said she was impressed by the organisation of the exercise and the involvement of community leaders.
“Our objective today was basically to observe an immunisation session, and I think we have seen that it is well organised, with many caregivers bringing their children,” she said.
Nguyenova stressed that eliminating zero-dose cases required collective action beyond the efforts of civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations.
“It is not just an effort of CSOs and NGOs; it must also involve the community and the health system,” she said, expressing hope that the approach would continue to benefit Nigerians in the coming months and years.
Similarly, Gavi’s Deputy Team Leader, Lizzie Towl, said vaccinating children who had never received routine immunisation was critical to protecting them against preventable diseases.
“It is very important to vaccinate these children to protect them against diseases. I am very impressed, and I thank the community leaders for bringing these people together so that everyone understands the importance of vaccination in protecting Nigerian children,” she said.
Towl urged stakeholders to sustain community engagement, particularly by working with traditional leaders, women and men in households to improve awareness and acceptance of vaccination.
“What we need to do in the future is to continue that message: vaccination will protect your child, and it is important to bring them for immunisation,” she added.
The Founder of GEM Hub Initiative, Oyeyemi Pitan, said misinformation, cultural barriers and resistance from some fathers continued to prevent children in certain settlements from accessing vaccines.
She said her organisation worked with traditional rulers, community heads and village development committees to address misconceptions and encourage acceptance of immunisation.
“Some fathers do not believe in vaccination, and there is different misinformation that people have about immunisation. What we do is work with community heads, community leaders and village development committees to sensitise them about the importance of immunisation,” Pitan said.
She disclosed that about 100 women in Ruga were awaiting vaccination for their children, adding that the exercise also identified a child aged about one year and nine months who had never received any vaccine.
Pitan said the mobility of residents, who frequently move between settlements, made sustained community-based mobilisation necessary to ensure that no child was left behind.
“Today, a woman who had never been to the hospital, according to what she told us, got immunisation for her child. We will continue with this effort; we will not stop,” she said.
Zero-dose children are those who have not received any routine vaccine, commonly identified by the absence of the first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis-containing vaccine.
Nigeria has continued to face challenges in routine immunisation coverage, particularly among children in underserved, urban-poor and hard-to-reach communities. The country, with support from Gavi and other development partners, has been implementing targeted interventions to identify missed children, strengthen primary healthcare delivery and improve equitable access to life-saving vaccines.
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