The Taraba State Primary Health Care Development Agency (TSPHCDA), has commenced preparations for a corrective vaccination campaign against maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) in six high-risk local government areas of the state.
According to the agency, Gassol, Lau, Sardauna, Ussa, Ibi and Gashaka are the high risk local government in the state.
The State Executive Secretary of the agency, Dr Tukura Nuhu Nyigwa, disclosed this during a stakeholders’ engagement meeting on the campaign in Jalingo.
An overview of stakeholders at the MNTE meeting in Jalingo
He said, the intervention was aimed at protecting women of childbearing age and newborns from the vaccine-preventable disease.
Dr. Nyigwa, maintained that, maternal and neonatal tetanus remained a public health concern in Nigeria due to poverty, inadequate health services, cultural practices and limited awareness, despite being preventable through vaccination and hygienic delivery practices.
“We want to eliminate tetanus. Tetanus is one of the vaccine-preventable diseases that we have in the country.
“In advanced countries, they hardly have tetanus again, but because of cultural factors, poverty, ignorance and weaknesses in the health system, women and children are still dying from it.”
According to him, neonatal tetanus is particularly dangerous during the first month of life, stressing that unhygienic delivery practices and improper care of the umbilical cord could expose newborns to infection.
The Agency’s ES, who recalled a recent case involving a woman who delivered in a private hospital, said the newborn’s umbilical cord became infected, and further stressed the need for proper education of mothers and birth attendants on safe cord care and clean delivery practices.
He said, women require adequate doses of the diphtheria-tetanus (DT) vaccine at recommended intervals to develop sustained protection against the diseases and also protect their unborn children.
He further disclosed that Taraba was working with the Federal Government and development partners to secure additional vaccines, particularly for areas considered vulnerable to the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases.
Dr. Nyigwa also urged traditional and religious leaders, private school proprietors, teachers, women groups and the media to support the campaign by mobilising eligible women and children and disseminating accurate information about the safety and benefits of vaccination.
He added, Taraba had recorded relatively fewer outbreaks of diphtheria compared with some other states, and attributed the situation to the commitment of health workers, government and development partners to routine immunisation.
“There was an outbreak of diphtheria last year or the year before, and we had one case in Lau local government. The case came from somewhere else. It means we are giving the vaccines and the vaccines are working,” he said.
He, however, disclosed that a suspected case of diphtheria had been identified in Bali and was undergoing confirmation, while the state was working with national authorities and partners to strengthen surveillance and vaccination.
The State Immunisation Officer, Mr. Nafiu Yahaya Umar, said 6 local government areas had been identified as high-risk areas for the MNT campaign because cases of the disease had previously been reported in them.
Mr. Umar said, the campaign was part of the Federal Government and partners’ efforts to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus in Nigeria, adding that 28 high-risk local governments had been identified across the North-East.
He explained that Nigeria had made substantial progress in reducing cases of neonatal tetanus, but some areas continued to report cases, necessitating targeted vaccination campaigns.
According to him, women need five appropriately timed doses of tetanus-containing vaccine to achieve long-term protection, while women who have not previously received the vaccine require appropriate doses during pregnancy in line with national immunisation guidelines.
He, also urged traditional rulers, religious leaders, school proprietors and community leaders to help mobilise residents, particularly women of childbearing age and eligible children, for the campaign.
Mr. Umar said, vaccination teams would visit schools and communities in the targeted LGAs rather than relying solely on health facilities, noting that hard-to-reach settlements, nomadic communities and people living around mountainous and riverine areas would also be targeted.
He explained the state’s difficult terrain and insecurity remained some of the major challenges to immunisation activities, particularly in hard-to-reach communities.
According to him, security arrangements were being made to ensure that vaccination teams could safely access vulnerable settlements, while local government authorities and community-based security structures would support operations where necessary.
He also identified inadequate awareness, cultural practices, poor access to health facilities, limited resources and competing public health emergencies as other challenges affecting vaccination coverage.
Mr. Umar stressed that the vaccine was safe, free and effective, and urged communities not to allow rumours and misinformation to prevent eligible women and children from accessing the service.
He said clean delivery practices were equally important in preventing maternal and neonatal tetanus, stressing the need for health facilities and birth attendants to maintain hygienic delivery environments and sterile equipment.
The State Health Educator of the agency, Mrs Christians Habila, said the stakeholders’ engagement was designed to ensure that participants understood the objectives and implementation strategy of the corrective campaign.
She said, stakeholders were expected to support advocacy, community mobilisation and demand creation, identify and report rumours and misinformation, and make specific commitments towards the successful implementation of the campaign.
Mrs. Habila said stakeholders would also agree on action points leading to and during the campaign scheduled for September 28 to October 2, 2026.
