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The Nasarawa State Government, in collaboration with UNICEF, the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NAPHDA), and other partners, has engaged journalists in the state ahead of the upcoming Measles-Rubella and Polio Vaccination Campaign.
Speaking during a media dialogue and mobilization session, the Executive Secretary of NAPHDA, Dr. Usman Iskilu Saleh, said the initiative is aimed at equipping media professionals with accurate and timely information to support the vaccination drive.
Dr. Saleh announced that the integrated campaign would be officially flagged off on October 7, 2025, at the Chun Mada Palace in Akwanga Local Government Area.
He emphasised ”the critical role of the media in sensitizing the public, dispelling misinformation, and ensuring widespread participation in the immunization exercise.”
The Executive Secretary, represented by the Director of Health Education and Social Mobilization, of (NAPHDA), Abubakar Ibrahim, said “the media engagement is to ensure that the public is informed accurately about the vaccines.”
He further said that the gathering also underscored the critical role of the media in combating misinformation, building trust in science, and mobilizing parents to embrace vaccination.
Ibrahim urged Journalists to use their platforms to dispel myths, inspire community action, and celebrate local heroes of immunization, noting that vaccines only save lives when every child is reached.
He expressed appreciation to UNICEF for their unwavering support in combating the scourge of measles and rubella in the state and commended the Nasarawa State government for becoming the first in Nigeria to integrate the MRV into routine immunization programs.
In his keynote address, the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), Measles-Rubella Consultant in Nasarawa state, Dr. Kayode Olawuyi, explained that “out of the 102million children to be vaccinated against Measles-Rubella and other childhood killer diseases across Nigeria, 1,372,251 will be vaccinated in Nasarawa state.”
Dr. Olawuyi said that “Nigeria has contributed significantly to the global measles and rubella burden.
He stressed that “the vaccine would be administered to children from nine months to 14 years during the 10 days campaign and subsequently incorporated into the routine immunization.”
Dr. Olawuyi said measles continues to claim young lives, rubella threatens unborn children, while variant poliovirus persists in some communities.
He said; “With the introduction of the MR vaccine into Nigeria’s national immunization schedule, in protecting children and pregnant women from life-threatening diseases, Nigeria would be free from all these diseases”.
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Dr. Olawuyi emphasised that the vaccine is safe, government-funded, and available for children between 9 months and 14 years at no cost.
Also speaking, Health specialist UNICEF, Kaduna Office, Dr. Luqman Ahmed, stressed that they have made remarkable progress in the fight against preventable diseases in Nigeria.
“We all stood tall as Nigeria was declared free of wild poliovirus, united by a single mission to protect our children and communities from preventable diseases through vaccination,” he said.
“For decades, measles has been one of the leading killers of children under five. Rubella though less well known, causes life-long harm when it infects pregnant women and children”.
“With the introduction of the Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccine, we now have an additional, powerful tool to stop both of these diseases and protect generations yet unborn.
“Together we will keep Nigeria polio-free, reduce measles outbreaks, prevent rubella, by protecting the future of every Nigerian child,” he noted.
Dr. Ahmed called on the media to help amplify and provide accurate information so that parents know vaccines are safe, effective, and paid for by the governments with no additional charge.
He therefore, thanked other partners and the participants for their commitment to the health of the nation.