Within the dusty outskirts of Dutse Alhaji, FCT, a local butcher, Mr Dahiru Adamu, previously declined vaccination services for his children when health workers visited his business.
For years, Adamu believed vaccines were a “foreign agenda,” refusing all immunisation for his three children and placing them among Nigeria’s growing population of zero-dose children.
“I thought they wanted to harm our children; people said many things about vaccines.”
Across FCT communities, from Bwari to Kuje and Kwali, similar fears persist, shaped by misinformation, distrust, and gaps in access.
Yet his story, like many others, did not end in resistance.
The butcher’s shift came through repeated visits by Volunteer Community Mobilisers (VCMs) during the 2025 Big Catch-Up campaign.
“They kept coming back; they listened to my fears and explained things patiently,” Adamu said.
By the end of the campaign, he said that his youngest child and three-year-old received their first vaccinations—marking a quiet but profound reversal.
The story of vaccination in Nigeria is one of deep transformation, from fear and fatalism to protection and trust across generations.
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In Mpape, another FCT community, the Eze family reflected this journey.
At 73, Mrs Nwanyibuife Eze recalled a childhood marked by diseases like polio, measles, and smallpox, when preventable deaths were often seen as inevitable.
“We saw children suddenly lose the ability to walk; there was nothing people could do then.”
Her experience mirrors Nigeria’s early immunisation era, beginning with large-scale vaccination campaigns in the late 1960s and the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) unveiled in 1978.
Her daughter, Mrs Ifunanya Eze-Chinedu, 47, a school teacher, represents a generation that had access to vaccines but was still exposed to doubts and misinformation surrounding immunisation.
“There were rumours everywhere. But I still took my children for immunisation because I did not want to take chances,” Eze said.
Their persistence contributed to one of Nigeria’s most significant public health milestones, the certification of the country as wild polio-free in 2020.
Public health data shows that the FCT continues to record notable gains in immunisation, in spite of persistent gaps.
According to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the territory achieved 100 per cent coverage during the May 2025 National Immunisation Plus Days, reaching more than 200,000 children in follow-up rounds.
However, stakeholders say that routine immunisation remains uneven.
Measles coverage in 2024 stood at 59 per cent, below the national average of 84.2 per cent and the 2028 target of 80 per cent routine coverage.
They say that the FCT is simultaneously making progress in reaching previously missed children, with a rise in first-time vaccinations and expanded outreach.
The territory also contributed to the national HPV vaccine rollout, which has reached over 12 million adolescent girls nationwide, alongside intensified efforts to close immunity gaps.
The Executive Director of NPHCDA, Dr Muyi Aina, said Nigeria had made measurable progress in immunisation coverage, including a 48 per cent reduction in circulating variant poliovirus outbreaks between 2023 and 2025, driven by intensified vaccination campaigns.
Aina said the Federal Government spent about 150 million dollars annually to procure vaccines, ensuring they remained free for all Nigerians.
However, he warned that infrastructure gaps remained a major challenge.
“About 3,715 Primary Health Care centres across 19 states, including the FCT, are currently non-functional.’’
He stressed the urgency of reaching unvaccinated children.
“Our mission is clear: we must ensure every eligible child, especially the three million zero-dose children, is reached with life-saving vaccines,” he said.
The Mandate Secretary for Health Services and Environment Secretariat, FCT Administration, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, reaffirmed the territory’s strong stance on child immunisation.
Fasawe warned that denying children vaccines violates the Child Rights Act (CRA) 2003.
“It is a fundamental right, not just an administrative lapse. Defaulters will face sanctions under existing public health and education regulations.”
She also unveiled a telehealth platform during the 2026 World Health Day aimed at improving access to primary healthcare and vaccination guidance.
She urged schools, religious institutions, and community leaders to support immunisation efforts.
“These vaccines are certified and safe. They are the legacy we leave for our children’s future,” she said.
The FCT Primary Health Care Board has also expanded outreach, reaching over 900,000 children with Vitamin A supplementation and routine immunisation across 250 functional health centres.
In spite of progress, health experts warned that inconsistent funding threatens long-term gains.
Experts under the Vaccine Network for Disease Control, supported by Gavi through the PREACH Project, said Nigeria’s immunisation system was being weakened by repeated partial disbursements, between 10 and 30 per cent from 2023 to 2026.
Head of Programmes, Mrs Chika Nwankwo, described the situation as unsustainable.
“This fire brigade approach is not sustainable; delays in fund release disrupt vaccine procurement and supply,’’ she said.
Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Chika Offor, disclosed that while N231 billion was appropriated for immunisation, only N68 billion had been released, creating a major funding gap.
UNICEF Health Manager, Dr Sheikh Kabir, said the issue was largely disbursement-related.
“Funds are sometimes delayed or inadequate, and that affects procurement,” Kabir said.
Nigeria, he confirmed, required more than 150 million dollars annually to sustain immunisation nationwide.
Across the FCT, personal stories continue to mirror national trends.
In the Damagaza community in the Lokogoma District of the FCT, Mr Haruna Nga-Kupi, changed his stance after losing a neighbour’s child to diphtheria.
In Kabusa, a diverse, fast-growing community and administrative ward in the FCT, Mrs Ramatu Usman, a firewood seller, ensured her daughter received the HPV vaccine for cervical cancer prevention.
In Kubwa, Mr Boniface Ayanwu, a civil servant, said his first child’s good health convinced him to fully immunise his younger children.
For families like the Ezes and Adamu’s, vaccination has become more than a medical intervention, it is a bridge across generations.
From a grandmother who witnessed preventable deaths, to a mother navigating misinformation, to a young adult growing up in a vaccine-aware era, Nigeria’s immunisation story reflects quiet but powerful change.
Prof. Oyewale Tomori, who played a pivotal, multi-decade leadership role in both the technical and strategic efforts to eradicate polio in Nigeria and across Africa, weighed in.
“Every vaccinated child is a step toward a healthier community,” he said.
In communities across the FCT, vaccines are gradually being redefined, not as fear, but as protection.
For many families, experts say that protection offered by vaccines now represents something simple but profound: the possibility of a healthier future.
(NANFeatures)
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