FCTA To Roll Out 1.5m Vaccine Doses For Measles Rubella, Others

The FCT Primary Health Care Board (FPHCB) yesterday, Oct. 8, commenced an integrated vaccination exercise in the nation’s capital to tackle Measles Rubella disease among children aged nine months to 14 years.
Other vaccines featured in the exercise include Oral Polio for children aged 0–59 months, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine for nine-year-old girls, and routine immunisation for children aged 0–23 months.
Executive Secretary of FPHCB, Dr Ruquayya Wamakko, urged the media to disseminate information about the exercise to hard-to-reach communities.
“All eyes are on the FCTA on what it will do to fight measles rubella, and the media must help project the vaccination exercise to the FCT populace and ensure turnout,” she said.
She added, “When we prevent these diseases at the community level, there will be less crowding in FCT health facilities”.
FCT Routine Immunisation Officer, Mr Tanko Chadwafwa, said measles was a highly infectious viral disease characterised by fever, maculopapular rash, cough, conjunctivitis, and coryza (runny nose).
He warned that it could lead to severe complications such as pneumonia, encephalitis, and even death, especially among young children and immunocompromised individuals.
Chadwafwa said the 2025/2026 integrated Measles Rubella campaign is being implemented to close immunisation gaps.
“The aim of the campaign is to reduce measles and rubella incidence to five cases per million by 2026, and one case per million by 2030, while increasing population immunity through vaccination,” he explained.
“The government’s target is to achieve 95 per cent measles rubella vaccination coverage post-campaign among children aged 9 months to 15 years in all implementing states.
“It is also to strengthen the immunisation system by improving Result Index performance and surveillance,” he added.
Deputy Director of Health Education, FPHCB, Mrs Chinyere Umeh, gave details of the operational plan, saying 26 team members will cover Abaji with a population of 58,028.
“104 in Bwari for 386,906, 72 in Gwagwalada for 200,519, 46 in Kuje for 103,780, 39 in Kwali for 114,774, and 365 in the Municipal Area Council for 722,007 residents”.
She called on the media to assist in reaching as many people as possible.
“The media has the capacity to reach a large number of people simultaneously, and the majority of residents depend on it for information,” she said.
Umeh also urged parents to give consent for school-based vaccinations, adding: “Vaccination officers will also be going around schools to ensure that all children are captured during this exercise”.