Johannesburg – Measles continues to be the leading killer of children globally and with this in mind more than 28 million children in northern Nigeria are being immunised against both this disease and meningitis as the World Health Organisation (WHO) together with the Nigerian authorities and other international partners carry out a vaccination campaign.
The campaign got underway on Saturday and is being implemented by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and WHO, with the support of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UN News reported.
"The measles vaccine remains the most cost-effective preventive measure against measles and WHO is committed to supporting the Nigerian government in reaching every eligible child in the country with the needed vaccines irrespective of their location," said Dr Fiona Braka, the UN agency’s Team Lead of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI).
Dr Joseph Oteri, Director of Disease Control and Immunisation with NPHCDA, underlined the government’s commitment to ensuring that the campaign reaches all eligible children in the north.
"We will go to markets, schools, churches, mosques and everywhere we can get good catchment to reach our target population. No child deserves to die from any vaccine-preventable disease," he said.
WHO has trained over 44 000 health workers and is mobilising over 17 000 vaccination teams to support the campaign, which will target children in 19 states across the north.