The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) indicated that 181,000 children in Borno State have not received any kind of vaccine.
The UNICEF Country Representative, Cristian Munduate who spoke in Maiduguri in commemoration of the 2023 Humanitarian Day noted that the figure represents data from eight local governments in the state.
She mentioned the local government areas to include Damboa, Gubio, Mafa, Jere, Konduga, Maiduguri Metropolitan, Monguno, and Ngala
The UNICEF representative noted said negative cultural practices, inadequate health facilities in the affected areas, lack of health personnel, poor supervision and resistance contribute to the trend.
She attributed the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases such as diphtheria, and measles to resistance to immunization
While praising the efforts of humanitarian workers working in the country, she called on government agencies and development partners to embark on outreach to encourage the vaccination of more children
The head of the UN agency who spoke about the rate of malnutrition in the country, noted that over 400,000 children suffer from acute malnutrition and 1.4 million children require psychosocial support in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.
