The north of Nigeria has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the world. This has dire impacts on the individual health of children and on public health. In 2023 Kano saw one of the largest diphtheria outbreaks in recent history. Measles has become endemic in many parts of Northern Nigeria with repetitive spikes throughout 2023 and well into the first half of 2024. This has public health consequences as well as Nigeria is still far from achieving the 95% coverage rate recommended by international health authorities.



Vaccine preventable diseases, in particular measles, can also lead be comorbidities for other medical conditions. Malnutrition and measles for example are closely linked due to the detrimental impact measles has on the gastrointestinal lining, in turn this makes the child more susceptible to malnutrition which further weakens the immune system, which makes the child more susceptible to other vaccine preventable diseases. This is a treacherous cycle which can have lasting impacts on the child, well into adulthood. It can also be deadly.

To boost the vaccine resistance in Gummi, Local Government Area (LGA) in Zamfara state MSF launched a vaccine campaign with the pentavalent vaccine.