Oluwatobi Adu 
ABUJA, Nigeria – Traditional rulers across Northern Nigeria have been urged to intensify efforts to close immunisation gaps after health authorities revealed that 2.1 million Nigerian children receive no routine vaccines each year, leaving millions vulnerable to preventable diseases.
The call was made on Friday during the second-quarter review meeting of the Northern Traditional Leaders Committee in Abuja, where government officials, traditional rulers and development partners reviewed Nigeria’s progress towards polio eradication and routine immunisation.
Health officials disclosed that although Nigeria records about eight million births annually, approximately 2.1 million children remain zero-dose, while routine immunisation coverage in northern Nigeria stands at 41.5 per cent, significantly below the national average of 57 per cent.
Chairman of the Northern Traditional Leaders Committee and Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Samaila Mera, urged traditional institutions to play a stronger role in ensuring every eligible child receives life-saving vaccines despite prevailing security challenges.
“As traditional leaders, it is our responsibility to ensure that no child is left unimmunized, no outbreak goes unreported and no community is left behind,” he said.
Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Muyi Aina, disclosed that Nigeria reduced circulating variant poliovirus type 2 cases from 48 to 39 as of July 2026.
However, he warned that seven cases of variant poliovirus type 3 had also been detected, with 70 per cent of confirmed cases concentrated in Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states.
According to Aina, over 80 per cent of affected children had never received any routine vaccine, while 90 per cent had missed inactivated polio vaccination.
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