The Federal Government has announced that over 61 million Nigerians, primarily children, have received vaccinations against measles, yellow fever, human papillomavirus, malaria, and Mpox since October 2023.
According to The PUNCH, the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Muyi Aina, disclosed this on Tuesday during a press briefing in Abuja. The event was held in commemoration of the 2025 African Vaccination Week, themed: “Immunisation for all is humanly possible.”
According to Aina, the government is intensifying efforts to address gaps in immunisation coverage and reduce the number of zero-dose children. “We were able to map almost 540,000 settlements nationwide. Using our polio campaign as a pilot, we enumerated 926,007 under-five children and vaccinated 851,929 of them — that’s a 92 percent success rate across 108 high-risk wards,” he said.
He added that the same strategy is being applied to scale up health campaigns and strengthen routine immunisation. “Our goal is to ensure no child is left unvaccinated. We are collaborating with states and security agencies to reach hard-to-access communities,” Aina stated.
He also revealed that vaccine delivery has been ramped up in Kano, Bauchi, Sokoto, Kaduna, Borno, and Yobe states. In addition, 1,653 solar-powered refrigerators are being procured with support from GAVI and UNICEF to improve vaccine storage at the PHC level.
Highlighting key achievements in 2024, Aina noted that 25.9 million children were vaccinated against measles in 26 states, and 22.5 million were immunised against yellow fever in Lagos, Yobe, and Borno states.
He said, “The introduction of new vaccines such as the HPV, malaria, and Mpox vaccines marks a milestone in our immunisation programme. Over 13 million girls aged 9 to 14 years have received the HPV vaccine, a major step toward eliminating cervical cancer in Nigeria.”
The R21 malaria vaccine rollout began in 2024, targeting high-burden areas like Kebbi and Bayelsa, with over 101,000 children vaccinated so far. Additionally, the Mpox vaccine was introduced in seven states, focusing on frontline health workers and immunocompromised individuals, with 4,306 persons vaccinated.
The next phase of the polio campaign is scheduled to begin on April 26 in the North and on May 3 in Southern Nigeria. Aina noted that Nigeria has recorded 17 cases of circulating Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus Type 2 (cVPV2) in eight states this year.
“Twelve of the cases are Acute Flaccid Paralysis while five were detected in environmental samples. This indicates ongoing transmission, which we must urgently interrupt,” he warned.
Representing the World Health Organisation, Dr. Eshetu Wase reaffirmed the importance of immunisation, stating, “Vaccination is not only central to primary health care; it is a fundamental human right. Vaccines have saved at least 154 million lives globally over the past 50 years.”
The government reiterated its commitment to ensuring vaccine equity and improving health security through strengthened primary health care systems.
