UNICEF launches vaccination drive, targets 2.3 million children in Katsina

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says it will vaccinate at least 2.3 million children under five years in Katsina State under an integrated polio and measles-rubella campaign beginning in October.

The campaign, which will run nationwide in two phases from 6 October to 13 February 2026, is part of renewed efforts to halt the circulation of the poliovirus in Nigeria and reduce child vulnerability to other preventable diseases.

Rahama Farah, Chief of UNICEF’s Kano Field Office, disclosed this on Tuesday at a media dialogue in Katsina organised in partnership with the Katsina State Government.

“Katsina will implement the campaign from 6 to 13 October,” Mr Farah said, warning that while the state had made progress, it was yet to interrupt transmission of the virus.

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The state recorded two cases of the circulating variant poliovirus in Danmusa Local Government Area in 2025, compared to 17 cases across eight LGAs last year, UNICEF said. Twenty of Katsina State’s 34 LGAs remain affected by insecurity, posing challenges for health workers.

Mr Farah called on the state government and local authorities to strengthen coordination, ensure that task force committees on immunisation meet regularly, and that LGA chairpersons personally oversee campaign activities.

According to UNICEF, 3.7 million doses of the novel oral polio vaccine (nOPV2) have been provided for Katsina, targeting 2.3 million children under five years through Directly Observed Oral Polio Vaccination (DOOPV). In addition, 4.8 million children aged nine months to 14 years will receive measles-rubella vaccines.

To deliver the intervention, the state will deploy 2,253 vaccination teams to fixed and temporary posts, alongside 5,584 teams conducting routine immunisation services through house-to-house, transit, and outreach strategies.

UNICEF has also trained 3,300 health workers and 600 Non-Compliance Resolution Teams (NCRTs) to engage households that resist vaccination. Two hundred NCRTs, each comprising community leaders, traditional leaders, and vaccinators, will operate in real time to resolve non-compliance cases during the campaign.

Shamsuddeen Yahaya, executive secretary of the Katsina State Primary Healthcare Management Agency, said the campaign was also critical in tackling rubella, which he described as “underreported but prevalent” in the state.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to protect our children not just from polio but also from measles and rubella,” he said.

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With UNICEF’s support, the state has also deployed six state facilitators, 21 LGA facilitators, 462 ward supervisors, and 4,647 community mobilisers.

Local government chairpersons and traditional leaders across the 34 LGAs have also signed a declaration supporting immunisation.

Nigeria was declared free of wild poliovirus in 2020 but continues to report variant cases linked to gaps in routine immunisation. Health experts say the fresh campaign aims to close those gaps while strengthening surveillance in high-risk states like Katsina.