Korede Abdullah 
OGUN, Nigeria – The Ogun State Government announces plans to vaccinate 2.9 million children against measles and rubella in a statewide campaign scheduled for January 20 to 29, 2025.
The exercise targets children aged nine months to 14 years, according to officials of the Ogun State Primary Health Care Board (SPHCB).
Speaking Tuesday in Abeokuta, the Executive Secretary of the SPHCB, Dr Elijah Ogunsola, says the campaign will adopt a ward-to-ward and settlement-to-settlement strategy to ensure maximum coverage. “Our teams will be within 500 metres of every household. We are also targeting schools,” Ogunsola says, noting that health workers will cover over 20,000 settlements.
He explains that routine immunisation will resume at health facilities after the campaign ends on January 29. “The campaign is for children from nine months to 14 years. Afterward, vaccination will be for nine and 15 months only,” he adds.
Director of Disease Control and Immunisation, Dr Thomas Solarin, warns of the dangers of rubella, particularly during pregnancy. “Once a woman has rubella, it can cause blindness or deafness in the unborn child,” he says.
Providing further data, the State Health Education Officer, Alhaji Waheed Elegbede, says Nigeria recorded 719 measles deaths, while globally 100,000 babies are born annually with congenital rubella syndrome.
Officials urge parents and caregivers to ensure all eligible children are vaccinated, describing the campaign as critical to preventing avoidable deaths and lifelong disabilities.
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