Nigeria immunization gap crisis deepens as over 2 million children remain unvaccinated, with insecurity and weak systems worsening access in northern regions

Nigeria is facing a deepening immunization gap crisis, with over two million children still without access to life-saving vaccines, according to the Kano State Commissioner for Health, Dr Abubakar Labaran Yusuf.

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Dr Labaran made the disclosure during a capacity-building workshop for health managers, held in Kano under the Nigeria Healthcare Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp).

The initiative is a collaboration between the Kano State Ministry of Health, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum.

He warned that most of the unvaccinated children are likely concentrated in the northern part of the country, particularly in the north-western states affected by insecurity.

“In Nigeria, we discovered that more than two million children are un-immunised,” Dr Labaran said. “Over 60 to 70 percent of them are likely in the northern region. Kano, which hosts many displaced persons, may carry a significant portion of that burden.”

The workshop, attended by monitoring and evaluation officers, aims to equip health professionals with skills to develop data-driven strategies for health budgeting and implementation.

Dr Labaran urged participants to fully engage with the training, stressing that strengthened coordination among stakeholders is essential to bridge the immunisation gap.

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Over the past two years, the Kano State Government has worked to improve vaccination coverage through improved planning and inter-agency collaboration, but insecurity continues to pose serious challenges.