He said the global goal he pointed out is to reduce the number of children with zero doses by 2025 by 25% and by 50% by 2030.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday that Nigeria currently carries the highest burden on unvaccinated children around the world.
Health Officer Bashir Elegan at UNICEF revealed this during a day’s media dialogue in Damatur, Yobe, to mark the 2025 World Vaccination Week.
Approximately 2.1 million Nigerian children (24% of an estimated 8.7 million under-person) have not received a single routine vaccine dose, Eregude said.
He said these children are called “zero dosing” (ZD) children because they have not received the vaccine according to the national vaccination schedule.
He said the global goal he pointed out is to reduce the number of children with zero doses by 2025 by 25% and by 50% by 2030.
“One population in Nigeria is estimated to be 8.7 million, of which 2.1 million (24%) are classified as zero-dose children,” he said.
“This highlights Nigeria is carrying the highest global burden of zero-dose children. Reducing the number of zero-dose children is important to not receive routine vaccinations to improve public health outcomes in Nigeria.”
Eregebede noted that these children are primarily found in places affected by the conflict, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as in hard-to-reach areas, urban slums and communities with weak health systems.
The importance of vaccination
Eregebede added that unvaccinated children are at a higher risk of contracting and dying from vaccine-preventable diseases such as polio, measles, meningitis, yellow fever and viral hepatitis.
He emphasized that vaccines are essential to protecting children’s health and development.
“Millions of lives have been saved by vaccines all over the world,” he said.
“Sadly, Nigeria has the highest burden on zero-dose children worldwide, with Borno and Yobe recording disproportionate numbers.”
He said UNICEF and other health sector stakeholders are supporting the Nigerian government, increasing daily vaccinations across the country and improving the health system.
Yobe and Borno’s intervention
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In 2024, UNICEF supported vaccinating approximately 20,000 zero-dose children, protecting against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B, and hemophilus influenzase types.
Eregude said mobilization of the volunteer community, working with UNICEF, has also helped reduce vaccination noncompliance to less than 1% across the Jobe settlements.
In Borno, 145,000 zero-dose children have reached the vaccine, and another 165,000 children in the northeast were targeted in a massive catch-up campaign in March and April 2025, he said.
“Of these numbers, 138,000 children representing 95% of them during BCU in March, and the third phase of the campaign is expected to end in April this year,” he said.
Traditional leaders pledge their support
Also at the event, Damatur Chief Shef Hashimi II Ibn Umar Al Amin el-Kanemi praised UNICEF’s efforts to reduce the number of unvaccinated children in Nigeria.
Emil, represented by Damathur’s Waziri, Maisanda Laura, pledged continued support for vaccination drives throughout the state.
“EMIR is working on this cause and will continue to ensure that the vaccine reaches all communities,” he said.
World Vaccination Week is commemorated annually from April 24th to 30th to raise awareness about the importance of vaccines and increase access to vaccination services around the world.
Under the theme of “All humans can be vaccinated humanly,” the World Health Organization said this year’s campaign highlights how collective efforts and investments can protect everyone from preventable diseases with vaccines.
