The federal government on Tuesday said no fewer than 61.5 million Nigerians, mostly children have been vaccinated against measles, yellow fever, Human Papillomavirus (HPV), malaria, and Mpox from October 2023 till date.
The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Muyi Aina, disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja to mark the 2025 African Vaccination Week.
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Mr Aina said during the 2024 measles and yellow fever campaigns, 25.9 million children were vaccinated against measles across 26 states, while 22.5 million received yellow fever vaccines in Lagos, Yobe, and Borno states.
He also noted that Nigeria successfully controlled a cholera outbreak in eight states, including during flooding in Borno, through vaccination and other interventions.
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Mr Aina said the agency is working to improve the quality of health campaigns to address outbreaks linked to gaps in routine immunisation coverage.
“We were able to map almost 540,000 settlements across the country and what was interesting, was that using our polio campaign as a pilot, because we had a list, a database of 926,007 under-five children enumerated, we tracked and vaccinated 851,929 (92 per cent) of them, across 108 high-risk wards for polio,’ he said.
He said the agency is deploying the same strategy to scale up campaign coverage and expand routine immunisation outreach to drastically reduce the number of zero-dose children.
He noted that the vision is to leave no child unimmunised.
According to him, the agency has scaled up last-mile vaccine delivery in Kano, Bauchi, Sokoto, Kaduna, Borno and Yobe states, in collaboration with states and security agencies to ensure access in hard-to-reach areas.
He added that the government is investing in vaccine security through improved cold chain systems, including the completion of a Lagos vaccine hub, the ongoing construction of a similar facility in Kano, and upgrades to the existing Abuja hub supported by UNICEF.
He said 1,653 solar-powered refrigerators are also being procured in partnership with GAVI and UNICEF to address vaccine storage gaps at PHC level.
HPV, malaria, Mpox vaccines introduced
Mr Aina said Nigeria introduced three new vaccines: the HPV, malaria, and Mpox vaccines.
He said the HPV vaccine was introduced in October 2023 and May 2024, targeting girls aged nine to 14 years. He said so far, over 13 million adolescent girls have received the vaccine across all 36 states and the FCT.
“HPV vaccine, introduced in October 2023 and May 2024, marked a major milestone in Nigeria’s effort to eliminate cervical cancer given that the vaccine is 99 per cent effective when administered,” he said.
He noted that the HPV vaccine is available free of charge in PHC facilities across the country, like every other vaccine in the national immunisation schedule.
On malaria, he said Nigeria commenced phased rollout of the R21 malaria vaccine in 2024, targeting children in areas with the highest malaria burden – Kebbi and Bayelsa
Mr Aina said 101,158 children have been vaccinated from the one million doses received so far.
“There was a constraint in the supply of vaccines, and we also needed to learn from the new experience. We received about a million doses. We have vaccinated 101,158 children in the two States,” he said.
He added that 4,306 people—including frontline health workers and immunocompromised individuals—have received Mpox vaccines in seven states.
Polio, cVPV2 cases
The Executive Director announced that the next round of polio vaccination will begin on 26 April in northern states, and 3 May in the South.
However, he expressed concern over continued transmission of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVPV2). He said so far in 2025, Nigeria has recorded 17 cVPV2 cases across 15 LGAs in eight states.
“Twelve of the 17 cases are Acute Flaccid Paralysis cases while five were found in Environmental Sites. This shows that there is still active transmission of the virus in the country which we need to stop,” he said.
“We have therefore embarked on strategic shift in critical components of the polio campaign, including vaccination team selection, demand generation, supervision, and accountability.”
Speaking at the event, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Country Representative, Walter Mulombo said immunisation remains a human right and a vital part of primary health care.
Mr Mulombo who was represented by Eshetu Wase, Head of Expanded Programme on Immunisation, WHO, said immunisation currently prevents 3.5 to five million diseases every year.
“The future of immunisation means not only reaching millions of children who have never received a single dose, but protecting grandparents from influenza, babies from malaria, and lifelong disabilities due to polio, measles, meningitis, and rubella, pregnant mothers from tetanus, and young girls from HPV,” he said.
African Vaccination Week
The African Vaccination Week is celebrated from 24 to 30 April annually as part of World Immunisation Week. The theme for 2025 is “Immunisation for all is humanly possible.”
In a message to mark the week, the Acting WHO Regional Director for Africa, Chikwe Ihekweazu said the theme is a powerful call to action.
Mr Ihekweazu said immunisation is not only one of the most effective public health tools; it is a fundamental right, a shared responsibility and a vital investment in our future.
He noted that vaccines have saved an estimated 154 million lives over the past 50 years, reducing infant mortality by 40 per cent and protecting people from more than 30 deadly diseases.
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“The theme affirms that, together, we can reach every last child, strengthen health systems, and restore and expand routine immunisation services disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
Mr Ihekweazu recalled that the global community celebrated 50 years of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation in 2024, a milestone which was a reminder of the extraordinary progress made – and the work that remains.
He, however, said despite the advances, far too many people in the region still lack access to essential vaccines.
“One in five children in Africa remain under-vaccinated. In 2023 alone, 6.7 million children received no vaccines at all – so-called “zero-dose” children. Measles outbreaks persist, while vaccine-derived poliovirus continues to pose a threat,” he said.
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