The Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), WHO, UNICEF and other partners including the Federal Government of Nigeria through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) have introduced the rotavirus vaccine into the country’s routine immunisation programme.
Today’s 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% of all deaths in children aged under five.