By Sola Charles
Representatives of the Lagos State Accountability Mechanism (LASAM) for Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent, Health and Nutrition were part of a 1-day engagement workshop on immunization advocacy.
The workshop, held on Tuesday 15 April 2025 at the Dover Hotel in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria, focused on finalizing advocacy briefs and strategizing implementation for a new immunization project initiated by Save The Children International (SCI) aimed at reducing the number of zero-dose and under-immunized children in Lagos State.
The initiative is part of the Better Opportunity for Optimal Services and Targeted Immunisation for Zero Dose and Under Immunised Children (BOOST Project) - a four-year (2024-2027) undertaking by Save the Children International (SCI) in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), and the Ministries of Health and Primary Health Care Boards in Lagos and Kano states.
In an overview, the Lagos State Project Manager, and Advocacy Coordinator of the BOOST project in Lagos State, Dr Itunu Dave-Agboola, explained that the BOOST project is for targeted immunization for zero-dose and under-immunized Children.
"By zero-dose children we mean children who have never been vaccinated, they have never received one dose of any vaccine. Under-immunized children are children who did not complete the immunization journey," Dave-Agboola noted.
Further, the Coordinator explained that the BOOST project, funded by GSK, specifically targets Alimosho and Ikorodu Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Lagos State, as well as Ungogo and Gezawa LGAs in Kano State.
According to her, a key component of the project in Lagos State involves collaborating with LASAM to foster a sustainable environment for immunization funding, human resources for health, and policies geared towards reducing the prevalence of zero-dose and under-immunized children.
The workshop builds upon previous efforts, bringing together the members of Evidence, Advocacy and Knowledge Management & Communication (KMC) subcommittees to finalize advocacy briefs developed in an earlier session.
The participants agreed on the crucial next steps for the implementation of these advocacy strategies.
Also in attendance were the LASAM Co-Chair, Dr Landry Sagbo, the Chairman Evidence subcommittee, Mr Baruwa Basit, the Chairman Advocacy subcommittee, Mrs Sola Hassan, and the Chairman KMC subcommittee, Sola Ogundipe. The Co-chairpersons, secretaries and Co-secretaries of the various subcommittees, were also present alongside their specific members.
The mixed expertise of the LASAM members was harnessed in recognition of their individual strengths and common vital role in gathering, harnessing and disseminating information and advocating for the project's objectives.
This collaborative effort underscores the commitment of all stakeholders to achieving the goals of the BOOST project and improving immunization rates across Lagos State.
In Nigeria, approximately 2.3 million children or 26.5 percent of children aged below 1 year, classified as zero-dose children, according to the 2022 World Universal Immunization Coverage Report (WUENIC).
UNICEF data shows that with 2.2 million cases, Nigeria had the second largest number of zero-dose children in the world in 2021. In Alimosho LGA - the most populous LGA in Lagos, there were over 35,000 zero-dose children, said to be the highest number of any LGA in the country.
In the same year, Kosofe LGA recorded about 17,000 zero-dose children with an estimated 17,162 partially immunized children, the second highest number for an LGA in Lagos State.
