Policy Brief & Alerts

January 20, 2014

Increasing Measles Immunization Coverage In Borno State Nigeria: Some Policy Options

This brief examines two measles immunization programs for
children of age 9-23 months in an effort to boost measles immunization coverage
in Borno State: free immunization against measles with media awareness campaign
and free immunization against measles with house to house campaign.

Download Label
March 13, 2018 - 4:00 am
application/pdf
190.18 kB
v.1.7 (stable)
Read →

Publication Date:November, 2013

Volume Number:1 Issue 9

Document Size:4 pages


Measles remains one of the leading causes of infant morbidity and mortality in Nigeria.Despite the efforts made by the Nigerian government, policymakers and otherstakeholders to increase children vaccination against infections, measles vaccinationcoverage remains very low. This situation is particularly profound in the Northern part ofthe country, with Borno State requiring urgent attention. Therefore, this policy briefpresents a summary of a policy simulation study of two measles immunization programsfor children of age 9-23 months which can be used to boost measles immunizationcoverage in Borno State. These programs are free immunization against measles withmedia awareness campaign (Policy A) and free immunization against measles with houseto house campaign (Policy B).

Overall, the results reveal that providing free immunization against measles complementedwith media awareness campaign is more effective and beneficial than free immunizationcomplemented with house to house visitation. However, for government to significantlyincrease measles immunization coverage, reduce measles induced death as well as makesignificant progress towards the attainment of Millenium Development Goal (MDG) 4 inBorno State, the existing policy of free immunization should be complemented with houseto house campaign in the rural areas which are characterized by high levels of illiteracy.Similarly, in the urban areas where most people are educated, the free immunizationprogramme should be supported with media awareness campaigns.




Related

 

Nigeria Economic Update (Issue 51)

According to figures released by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, employment growth lagged during the recession period, and worsened unemployment/underemployment rates few quarters after. Specifically, unemployment rate rose to 18.8 percent in 2017Q31, up from 16.2 percent in previous quarter (the recession-exit quarter) and 13.9 percent in corresponding quarter. Disaggregated figures reveal that the number of unemployed and underemployed persons in the labour force increased by 17 percent and 2 percent respectively, to 15.9 million and 18.0 million in 2017Q3, majority of which are young persons within ages 15-34.