The United Nations Children Fund UNICEF says over one hundred and eighty thousand children from eight local government areas of Borno state have not received any form of vaccination. 

Country Representative of UNICEF Ms. Christian Munduate stated this at a media briefing to commemorate 2023 World Humanitarian Day in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital. 

According to her, the local government areas are Damboa, Gubio, Mafa, Jere, Konduga, Maiduguri Metropolitan, Monguno and Ngala.

Ms. Munduate said the situation could be attributed to several factors including negative cultural practice, inadequate health facilities in the affected areas, lack of health personnel, poor supervision and resistance from some members of the community. 

The UNICEF Representative pointed out that resistance to Immunisation has led to resurgence of some vaccine preventable diseases such as diphtheria, measles among others. 

She stressed the need to join forces with government agencies and development partners to embark on door-to-door outreach to ensure more children are vaccinated. 

Ms. Christian Munduate saluted the courage and resilience of humanitarian workers in the North East and entire country for providing life-saving support to IDPs and disadvantaged children. 

“There has been progress since I last visited Borno state. Children are getting vaccinated, are returning to school, mothers continue to visit primary health facilities and children are getting registered at birth ” Munduate said. 

The Head of UN Children Agency in Nigeria advocated for more resources to tackle malnutrition with over 400,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition and 1.4 million children require psychosocial support in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.