Measles vaccination targets 4.7m children

Health workers hope to complete vaccination of some 4.7 million children against measles in the northeastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe this week.  Insecurity in the area has limited vaccination efforts in the past and children in inaccessible areas have been particularly vulnerable. Higher temperatures in the first half of a year also raises […]

Health workers hope to complete vaccination of some 4.7 million children against measles in the northeastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe this week. 

Insecurity in the area has limited vaccination efforts in the past and children in inaccessible areas have been particularly vulnerable.

Higher temperatures in the first half of a year also raises further concerns for measles infections.

Last year, some 25,000 children had measles, most of them aged less than 10.

At least 100 of them died, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund, which is part of the vaccination campaign funded by the Measles and Rubella Initiative. 

“Security has improved in some areas so we have acted quickly to access places we could not previously reach and protect children from the spread of a very dangerous disease,” said Mohamed Fall, UNICEF Representative in Nigeria. 

“We are still extremely concerned about children living in large areas of Borno state that are not yet accessible.”

The campaign also includes vitamin A supplement and deworming tablets.