Context
According to the WHO, Nigeria is the country with the highest number of unimmunized children in the world, accounting for more than a quarter of all unimmunized children globally. Sokoto state is in the North-western part of Nigeria and has been identified as a low-performing priority state in immunization coverage and is targeted for intensified and accelerated efforts under the Nigeria Strategy for Immunization and Primary healthcare System Strengthening (NSIPSS 2018). The UNICEF IEI (Immunization Education Initiative) program was sponsored by UNICEF, GAVI, QATAR foundation, and the Sokoto state government in 2022 to improve immunization coverage in Sokoto state.
Approach
The UNICEF-led IEI program, supported by GAVI and the Sokoto government, implemented an 8-month intervention across 3 LGAs. Before the IEI intervention, a baseline coverage survey was conducted in Kware, Shagari, and Isa. After the intervention, an endline survey was also carried out. The survey was carried out by the Sokoto UNICEF field office in collaboration with ACE Strategy Consult Limited. The WHO-approved EPI cluster sampling technique was used to identify 30 systematically selected clusters of ten children between 4-17 months per LGA to estimate the immunization coverage of all the children that live in the area. Electronic data files were transmitted via the Kobo Collect application platform ensuring real-time validation.
Results
There were higher rates of vaccination coverage at the endline compared to the baseline and this could be attributed to the efforts of the social mobilization team during the intervention. BCG and Penta 1 rose by 5% and 9% respectively. Overall the proportion of children fully immunized was significantly greater compared to the baseline. Vitamin A supplementation also showed a slight improvement from 7% to 9%. Selected WASH indicators showed no improvement during this baseline-endline period.
Partners: ACE Strategy and Consults | UNICEF | GAVI | QATAR foundation | Sokoto State Primary Health Care Development Agency