Massive immunisation campaign to reach 41 million children

A major health campaign is underway in the Lake Chad Basin area to vaccinate over 41 million children against polio to contain the recent outbreak of the disease in north-east Nigeria.

Populations fleeing conflict are on the move within the sub-region, raising concerns that the virus could spread across borders.

Nearly 39,000 health workers are deployed across Nigeria and neighbouring Chad, Niger, Cameroon and the Central African Republic to deliver the oral polio vaccine in areas at high-risk for the virus during five rounds of coordinated vaccination campaigns across five countries.

UNICEF is procuring the vaccines and engaging the public through mass media and grassroots mobilization.

“The re-emergence of polio after two years with no recorded cases is a huge concern in an area that’s already in crisis,” said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa.

“The scale of our response reflects the urgency: we must not allow polio to spread.” The ongoing conflict has now displaced 2.6 million people, devastated provision of healthcare and left more than 4 million people in north-east Nigeria facing emergency food security levels.