The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has identified Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara as the states with the highest burden of un-immunised children in Nigeria.

According to the global children body, the recent outbreaks of Diphtheria in Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states were found to have occurred in locations with zero-dose children and the outbreaks signpost the danger posed to children’s lives by low immunisation coverage levels.

Meanwhile, the Sokoto state government has decried the high rate of rejection of immunisation in the state as well as Kebbi and Zamfara states as a result of ignorance.

Chief, UNICEF Field Office, Sokoto, Dr. Maryam Darwesh Said, who disclosed this yesterday at a two-day Media Dialogue on Routine Immunisation and Zero Dose Reduction Campaign organised by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the Primary Healthcare Development Agencies of Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states, observed that immunisation is the most cost-effective, high-impact intervention for dealing with vaccine-preventable diseases, especially in children under five.

Said, who was represented by Health Manager, UNICEF Sokoto Field Office, Dr. Shamina Sharmin, noted that despite its efficacy, Immunisation uptake has not always been at its highest level in some countries, including Nigeria, adding that recent data from UNICEF’s flagship report – the State of the World Children’s Report (SOWC) 2023 – lists Nigeria as one of the countries with highest Zero Dose children.

She said: “According to the report, out of the 67 million children who missed routine vaccination between 2019 and 2022, 48 million didn’t receive a single regular vaccine. As of the end of 2021, India and Nigeria had the most significant numbers of zero-dose children, a reference to children who didn’t receive a single dose of antigens they should have taken at their age to give them protection from vaccine-preventable diseases.

“Today, vaccines are estimated to be one of the most cost-effective means of advancing global welfare. In recent years, the World Health Organisation declared vaccine hesitancy a top threat to public health. While vaccine hesitancy is as old as vaccination itself, the nature of the challenge continues to shift with the social landscape. Vaccine hesitancy and the misinformation it fuels are crucial drivers of under-vaccination across the globe. Disseminating accurate information and allaying the spread of misinformation is essential to ensuring every child is protected with life-saving vaccines.”

Said noted that the National Immunisation Coverage Survey (NICS) 2021 showed that Nigeria has made progress in immunisation, with national Routine Immunisation coverage of children receiving all three doses of the pentavalent vaccine at 57 per cent but the Completeness of Routine Immunisation coverage is 36 per cent! For North West Nigeria, the figure is only 25 per cent.

She observed that Nigeria needs to build on the gains made in Routine Immunisation by sustaining awareness of its importance in the minds of caregivers, communities, decision-makers and the public.

In his keynote speech, the Director, Public Health at the Sokoto State Ministry of Health, Dr. AbdulRahman Ahmad, said that Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states were battling with high levels of zero dose immunisation and a high level of vaccine preventable diseases.

He stated that the three states have continued to record high levels of Circulating Vaccine-derived Poliovirus because of the high number of zero dose children, stressing the need to educate the public on the importance of taking the life-saving interventions to save the children against vaccine preventable diseases.