| Abstract |
Nigeria implemented series of preventive immunization campaigns to combat measles and yellow fever, two major public health concerns, from October to November 2024. These mass vaccination campaigns aimed to prevent, control, and ultimately eliminate these diseases nationwide. To assess the effectiveness of these efforts, Integrated Post Campaign Coverage Surveys (IPCCS) were conducted after each immunization round to evaluate coverage rates in participating states. This proactive approach is crucial, given Nigeria's history of measles outbreaks and ongoing challenges in achieving optimal vaccination coverage.
Measles: Nigeria's measles vaccination coverage reached 84.2 percent nationwide, but fell short of the 95 percent campaign target threshold set for measles elimination during Supplementary Immunization Activities (SIAs). Vaccination coverage by state ranged between 59 percent in FCT and 97 percent in Ekiti. Children aged 48-59 months had the highest coverage at 85.9 percent whereas those aged 9-11 months had the lowest coverage at 78.2 percent. Urban areas had higher coverage rate of 86.0 percent compared to rural areas at 81.8 percent. No significant difference in vaccination coverage was observed between males and females. The percentage of children that received measles vaccine for the first time during the campaign was 11.7. North Central reported the highest proportion of first-time vaccinations at 16.1 percent, followed by South-South at 12.9 percent, while North East had the lowest at 8.2 percent.
Evidence by card retention, history or recall and finger mark were accessed during the survey. Findings shows that card retention had 44.2 percent, history/recall (38.5 percent) and Finger mark seen (15.8 percent). Card retention across the surveyed states show that respondents in Niger state had highest card retention with 74.0 percent while Ogun state recorded the least card retention with 28.3 percent
Majority of respondents (53.2 percent) learned about the campaign through town criers/ mobilizers/ community health workers. More than 7.0 percent of respondents were not informed of the measles campaign, ranging from 1.9 percent in Ekiti state to 28.9 percent in FCT. The primary reason for non-vaccination was lack of awareness among parents or caregivers (7.0 percent) and 1.3 percent of children were not vaccinated due to religious beliefs.
Yellow Fever: At the aggregate level, the vaccination coverage for Yellow Fever in Borno, Lagos and Yobe states was 67.9 percent which was below the expected 80 percent campaign target threshold. The vaccination coverage by state was 81.6 percent in Yobe, 49.9 percent in Borno state and 62.5 percent in Lagos. Further noticeable disparity in the coverage between urban and rural areas, with urban areas having a higher coverage rate of 72.7 percent compared to 64.7 percent in rural areas. Analysis by age group also shows that coverage among children aged 6-14 years has the highest at 76.8 percent, while the lowest is among adults aged 25-44 years at 57.3 percent. Additionally, vaccination coverage was the same among both males and females at 67.9 percent.
Further analysis on card retention, shows that only 40.0 percent of children who received the vaccination had a vaccination card. Yobe state had the highest proportion of children with vaccination cards at 46.6 percent, while Borno state had the lowest, at 25.9 percent.
Evidence of vaccination by finger mark among the targeted States were 10.9 percent in Lagos state, 10.6 percent in Borno state and 3.7 percent in Yobe state.
Majority of respondents learned about the Yellow Fever campaign through town criers /mobilizers/community health workers (31.2 percent), followed by family members (17.5 percent).
Among non-vaccinated children, the primary reason was lack of awareness among parents or caregivers (20.0 percent). |
