FIC Report (Ebonyi State) – In collaboration with UNICEF through the Primary Health Care initiative, the Ebonyi State Government has unveiled plans to commence a measles and rubella immunisation exercise for children aged nine months to 15 years.
The exercise, scheduled to run from 4th to 14th February, 2026, is in line with UNICEF’s declaration to ensure that over 102 million children across Africa are immunised against measles and rubella. In Nigeria, the northern region has taken the lead with over 80 million children already vaccinated, making it imperative for other regions to follow suit.
Speaking during the media sensitisation programme, the Executive Secretary of the Ebonyi State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Uvoba Emeka Philip, said the engagement was aimed at informing the public about Phase Two of the measles-rubella campaign.
We have brought in the media to give them the necessary information so they can help relay it to the hinterland, ensuring that we do not miss any eligible child in Ebonyi State when this campaign commences from February 4 to 14, 2026,” he said.
Dr. Uvoba noted that the sensitisation campaign would be extended to churches, mosques, schools and other public places to ensure that vaccines reach all targeted children, in line with the vision of the state government under Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru.
When the Governor of Ebonyi State and his wife declared that health is wealth and made it a priority, they set the foundation for this campaign. Health is a right, not a privilege, and that understanding has helped the people of Ebonyi State to accept vaccination as a means of preventing diseases,” he stated.
He added that resistance to vaccination has significantly reduced in the state, stressing that primary health care is mandated by law to prevent diseases.
Dr. Uvoba further advised parents to present their children for the exercise, assuring them that the vaccines are safe and free.
The vaccines have been fully paid for by the Ebonyi State Government, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency and other partners. They are free of charge and without complications. We urge parents to bring out their children within the eligible age bracket so that no child suffers preventable deformities or complications,” he said.
Also speaking, a Social and Behavioural Change expert and health consultant with UNICEF, Mr. Ifeanyi Nwodika Frank, emphasised the importance of routine immunisation in disease elimination. He explained that the national programme provides two doses of measles-containing vaccine (MCV) at nine months and 15 months of age.
According to him, the essence of the campaign is to close immunity gaps, interrupt the transmission of polio, measles and rubella, and strengthen routine immunisation services.
He disclosed that the exercise would adopt fixed (static) and temporary fixed (mobile) posts, with trained health workers deployed in teams of two, supported by ad hoc staff, to effectively carry out the immunisation.
The target is 102 million children across Nigeria, making it the largest immunisation campaign in Africa. The northern region has already concluded about 60 per cent coverage, with general hospitals across states collaborating and health workers trained to administer the vaccines,” he added.
Signed
Bakare Lauretta
HOC FIC Abakaliki
17/01/2026
