The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the Kano State Government, has announced the launch of Nigeria’s most ambitious integrated vaccination campaign targeting measles-rubella and polio.
The campaign will kick off on October 6, 2025.
It aims at vaccinating over 11.7 million children in Kano State alone.
Speaking during a media orientation in Kano on Monday, UNICEF’s Chief of Field Office in Kano, Rahama Farah, emphasised the critical role of journalists in mobilising public awareness and ensuring the success of the campaign.
“This integrated campaign is a collaborative effort involving the Federal Ministry of Health, NPHCDA, WHO, GAVI, the Gates Foundation, civil society, and the Kano State Government.
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“We are targeting 3.9 million children under five for polio and 7.8 million children aged 9 months to 14 years for measles-rubella vaccination,” Farah said.
He said that Kano State had already conducted two successful “in-between rounds” of immunisation earlier this year, reaching over 300,000 children across 3,000 settlements.
Farah called on local government chairpersons to personally oversee campaign phases and urged the state to deploy UNICEF-provided Bluetooth speakers for grassroots mobilisation.
Speaking also the representative of Kano State Primary Health Care Management Board, Dr Ahmed Tijjani Rabiu, Director of Disease Control and Immunisation, described the campaign as the largest of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Nigeria is targeting 106 million children nationwide. In Kano alone, over 7 million children will be vaccinated.
“This campaign integrates measles-rubella, routine immunisation, hepatitis, HPV, polio, and Onkosaka, a neglected tropical disease,” Rabiu said.
