Adamawa launches mop‑up vaccination campaign for zero‑dose and under‑immunised children

In Adamawa State, authorities are carrying out a compensatory immunisation campaign for infants who missed the routine childhood vaccination schedule because of prevailing circumstances.

State government officials and UNICEF, which is implementing the catch‑up programme, are identifying eligible children and giving them the vaccines they previously missed.

The immunisation make‑up project, funded by the Republic of Korea, deploys trained vaccinators and community mobilisers to visit communities and reach both zero‑dose children—those who have never received a vaccine since birth—and under‑immunised children—those who began but did not finish the schedule.

UNICEF Health Officer for the Bauchi Field Office, Mr Patrick Akor, said the exercise targets zero‑dose children who have not received their first vaccine dose and are older than 11 months.

He added that the initiative also focuses on under‑vaccinated children who have not completed their recommended schedule, especially in communities affected by insecurity.

Project consultant for Yola South LGA, Joseph Timothy, explained how unreached children are reached: “We have mobilisers—people who know the communities well. These mobilisers, also called defaulter trackers, go door‑to‑door to encourage defaulters to visit the nearest clinic or to arrange for our vaccinators to reach them.”

Adamawa State Immunisation Officer Umar Bahuli added that the programme has already achieved significant results in communities that were previously identified as low‑performing in routine immunisation coverage.