Largest yellow fever vaccination campaign in Nigeria’s history under way – UN health agency
25 January 2018 – The Nigerian Government launched a mass vaccination campaign in alliance with the World Health
Organization (WHO) on Thursday, aiming to immunize more than 25 million people before the end of this year.
This drive is part of a global effort to eliminate the risk of yellow fever epidemics by 2026, which should be possible
if 90 per cent of the population can be reached. The preventive campaign will use vaccines funded by Gavi, the Vaccine
Alliance, and will also be supported by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The yellow fever virus is mosquito-borne, and the disease can cause jaundice due to liver damage.
Nigeria’s current yellow fever outbreak began in September, and by early January this year, a total of 358 suspected
cases had been reported, with 45 deaths.
In late 2017, Nigeria vaccinated more than three million people in an initial emergency yellow fever campaign, with the
aim of quickly containing the outbreak.
However, the virus continues to spread in parts of the country where people remain largely unprotected.
WHO is supporting the campaign by training thousands of healthcare workers, helping to track cases, and by providing
coordination and logistical support.
“With a single dose of vaccine, an individual is protected for life against yellow fever,” Dr. Wondimagegnehu Alemu, WHO
Representative in Nigeria, said on Wednesday. “This is a massive undertaking which took weeks of planning. Nearly 3000
vaccination teams are being deployed across the four states participating in the campaign.”
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