Nigeria launches rotavirus vaccine under national immunisation programme

In partnership with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, World Health Organisation, UNICEF and other partners, the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, has introduced the rotavirus vaccine into the country’s routine immunisation programme. The launch is a critical first step in a push to reach children across the country with the rotavirus vaccine, which protects against rotavirus infections, the leading cause of severe diarrhoea in young children worldwide. Childhood diarrhoea is the third leading cause of childhood mortality in Nigeria, accounting for 15 per cent of all deaths in children aged under five. The vaccine will initially be available in 19 states and the federal capital territory (FCT), starting with zones with lower vaccination coverage, and will later be rolled out to the remaining 17 states, with the aim to reach seven million children within the first 12 months. The rotavirus vaccine will be administered orally to infants at 6, 10 and 14 weeks of age.