South Korea has earmarked $5.6 million for a children’s immunisation project in Lagos and four other states, aimed at reducing the number of zero-dose children and strengthening vaccination coverage across targeted communities.
The Korean Consul-General to Nigeria, Mr Sang Ho Lee, disclosed this on Thursday during the flag-off ceremony of the Republic of Korea-UNICEF Investments on Routine Immunisation held in Badagry, Lagos, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He said the project is designed to reduce zero-dose vaccination among children in 40 local government areas across Lagos, Ogun, Niger, Bauchi, Adamawa states and the Federal Capital Territory.
What they are saying
Speaking on the scope of the initiative, Lee said it would focus on targeted vaccination campaigns, expansion of immunisation sessions in outbreak-prone communities, and strengthening of immunisation systems, noting that “it will also address social and behavioural determinants of immunisation.”
- “The choice of Nigeria is strategic because Nigeria records a high volume of children with little or zero-dose immunisation, which poses great danger to global health security,” Lee said.
Also speaking, the Chairman of Badagry Local Government Area, Mr Babatunde Hunpe, described immunisation as one of the most cost-effective ways of protecting lives, noting that it safeguards not just individuals but entire communities.
- “When a child is vaccinated, we are not only protecting that one child, we are building a wall of protection around the entire community,” he said.
He added that several diseases, including measles, polio, diphtheria and meningitis, have claimed millions of lives across Africa, stressing that “yet, all of these are preventable through routine immunisation.”
More insights
According to Mrs Wafaa Saeed, the UNICEF Country Representative in Nigeria, vaccination saves at least four million lives globally each year.
She added that UNICEF estimates show that about two million children in Nigeria have received no vaccines at all.
- “When we say zero dose, we are talking about the children who are not getting a single shot of protein vaccination,” she said.
- She further emphasised the broader benefits of vaccination, noting that “communities are protected from outbreaks by vaccination. And I think our collective global health is also protected by vaccination.”
What you should know
Although Nigeria was declared free of wild poliovirus by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020, the virus has not been completely eliminated.
- In April 2025, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) supplied over 2.5 million doses of Oral Polio Vaccines to Bauchi State to protect children.
- In August of that year, the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) reported a 46% decline in circulating poliovirus cases, indicating progress in eradication efforts.
- However, measles remains a major concern, with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) recording 26,866 suspected cases and 153 deaths between January and November 2025.
