BY VIVIAN IHECHU
Vaccines represent one of the greatest feats of modern medicine, with their evolution traceable to Edward Jenner’s 18th-century smallpox inoculation, evolving to today’s complex molecular platforms.
These biological preparations safely prime the immune system to recognise and fight pathogens, preventing over 30 infectious diseases globally.
For decades, widespread vaccination led to the elimination or dramatic reduction of scourges like polio and measles.
However, while vaccines remain one of humanity’s greatest achievements, Nigeria continues to face hurdles in realising their full potential, experts say.
The country continues to battle outbreaks of preventable diseases, including diphtheria, recurring measles, Mpox, and others, often due to low immunisation coverage and logistical challenges.
This low rate fuels the spread, demonstrating that while the power of vaccines remains constant, their effectiveness relies entirely on access and public uptake.
At a webinar on “Mpox Resurgence in Nigeria” meeting, hosted by Preventing Health Nigeria Advocacy Operations Ltd., its CEO, Adekola Wujola, emphasised the power of vaccination.
The webinar had the theme: “Mpox Resurgence in Nigeria: The Efforts, Challenges and Recommendations”.
Wujola decried Nigeria’s low vaccine coverage rate, currently pegged at 62.5 per cent, which falls significantly short of the 80 per cent target required to achieve sufficient herd immunity and protect the population from preventable diseases.
The concern comes amid a global resurgence of vaccine-preventable illnesses, such as measles in countries that had previously eliminated them, driven by declining immunisation rates.
Reiterating the significant impact of vaccines on public health, he cited the 1980 eradication of smallpox as undeniable proof of their effectiveness against diseases.
“Smallpox, that’s the only disease that’s been eradicated by mankind in 1980 and that was due to vaccination,” Wujola stressed.
He drove home the power of vaccination using an emotive historical photo.
“This is a clear example of the power of vaccines, that a child who does not have smallpox can sit down side by side–simply because one has been vaccinated and the other has not.
“There are indeed a lot of advantages— undeniable advantages—children, adults, and everyone stands to benefit from vaccination.”
On some of the challenges affecting the country’s vaccine uptake, he highlighted that low coverage, exacerbated by pervasive misinformation and ill-informed healthcare practitioners (HCPs), is preventing Nigeria from realising the full positive effects of the diseases’ vaccines are designed to prevent.
He also noted that the emigration of healthcare professionals hampers sustained campaigns and public confidence.
“Several factors undermine high vaccine uptake.
“There’s a lot of misinformation. As we all know, social media has its own contributions to this,” he warned.
“The majority of vaccination campaigns fail because of the non-participation of healthcare professionals, once the healthcare professional opposes the campaign, it is going to fail.”
On the implication, Wujola described the economic cost as steep.
“There’s a huge economic impact of sickness. The burden of disease falls on our healthcare systems.”
In response to this challenge, he said that organisations like Preventing Health Nigeria were focusing advocacy efforts first on HCPs through capacity building and public focused vaccine campaigns, aiming to correct misinformation and drive coverage rates above the critical 70 per cent threshold.
According to him, advocacy, accurate information, and the stewardship of healthcare professionals remain essential.
“Once the professionals don’t have the right attitude and perceptions concerning vaccination because they are misinformed or ill-informed, it’s not going to work,” Wujola concluded.
Prof. Isaac Adewole, former Minister of Health, spoke on the country’s approach to Mpox Control and Prevention in Nigeria, calling for urgent concerted action to curb the spread.
According to him, new cases of Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, continue to emerge across Nigeria and globally.
He described Mpox as a viral disease previously confined to Central and West Africa, but now recognised as a worldwide health threat.
He explained that transmission occurred mainly through close personal contact, exposure to contaminated objects, or animal-to-human spread, with recent studies confirming the risk of transmission even from individuals without visible rashes.
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