Danjuma Shehu Ibrahim writes on the urgent need to dispel vaccine misinformation threatening child survival in the region
By Danjuma Shehu, Gombe | Oct. 24, 2025
A silent killer continues to claim the lives of thousands of children under the age of five in Nigeria’s troubled Northeast. Beyond the well-known challenges of malnutrition, malaria, and insecurity, misinformation and deeply rooted myths about immunisation are contributing directly to preventable child deaths, undermining public health progress and threatening the future of a generation.
The Myths That Endanger Lives
Despite decades of global advances in immunisation, dangerous misconceptions about vaccines persist in many communities across the Northeast. Some parents still believe that vaccines cause infertility, lead to autism, or are part of a Western plot to harm Muslim populations. Others see vaccination campaigns as satanic or politically motivated.
These falsehoods thrive in areas where literacy levels are low, health education is weak, and public trust in government and health authorities has been eroded by years of conflict and neglect. According to UNICEF, only 33 per cent of children in the Northeast received all basic vaccinations by their first birthday in 2023, compared to over 60 per cent in Nigeria’s southern states. This alarming gap leaves millions of children exposed to preventable diseases such as measles, tetanus, and polio.
A Preventable Tragedy
The human cost of vaccine hesitancy is devastating. In 2022, Nigeria accounted for more than half of all global cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV), with most outbreaks traced to under-immunised communities in the Northeast. Periodic measles outbreaks continue to take a heavy toll, with over 5,000 reported cases and more than 200 child deaths in Borno and Yobe states in 2023, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Healthcare workers in these states speak of tragic scenes — mothers arriving at hospitals with critically ill children who might have been saved through routine immunisation. “We are fighting not just diseases but misinformation and fear,” said Dr. Fatima Bulama, a paediatrician with the Borno State Primary Health Care Board. “Every unvaccinated child is at risk, and every death from a vaccine-preventable disease is a tragedy that could have been avoided.”
An Urgent Moral and Health Imperative
The region’s health crisis is compounded by poverty, malnutrition, and conflict — a deadly combination that continues to threaten child survival. Adding vaccine-preventable diseases to this mix only deepens the cycle of suffering and loss. Addressing these harmful beliefs is therefore not just a public health priority but a moral obligation.
Northeast Nigeria already bears some of the highest child mortality rates on the continent, with the 2023/24 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) estimating about 160 deaths per 1,000 live births. The cost of inaction is measured not only in lives lost but also in broken families, weakened communities, and overstretched health systems.
However, hope is not lost. Experience shows that when communities are engaged meaningfully, change happens. The involvement of trusted religious and traditional leaders has proven particularly effective. In the early 2000s, the active participation of local imams and women’s groups in Kano State helped reverse polio vaccine boycotts, paving the way for Nigeria’s eventual certification as polio-free in 2020.
Towards a Coordinated Response
To reverse current trends, the Nigerian government, through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), must intensify collaboration with partners such as UNICEF, WHO, Gavi, and civil society organisations. Health workers require improved training, protection, and community support to carry out their lifesaving duties in difficult environments.
The media equally has a critical role in shaping public opinion. By countering misinformation with accurate, accessible reporting — especially in local languages — the press can help rebuild trust and promote vaccine confidence. Parents and caregivers, on their part, must embrace the responsibility of safeguarding their children’s health by seeking reliable information and participating actively in immunisation programmes.
When children are fully immunised, communities thrive. Outbreaks are prevented, healthcare costs are reduced, and children are free to grow, learn, and reach their full potential. Immunisation is not merely a medical intervention; it is an investment in the social and economic future of the Northeast.
Failure to act decisively risks condemning another generation of children to preventable suffering and death. As the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, aptly stated:
“Vaccines are one of the most powerful tools in the history of public health. Where vaccines fail to reach children, myths and misinformation often succeed in taking lives.”
The time to act is now. Government, religious leaders, health professionals, civil society, and parents must unite to confront the myths and fear that continue to deny children their right to life and health. Protecting the next generation of Northeastern Nigerians requires truth, courage, and collective responsibility. The children deserve nothing less.
Danjuma Shehu Ibrahim is the State Coordinator, Association for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Nigeria (AONN), and a Fellow of the 2025 Niyel Fellowship Cohort.
