The Federal government has launched a large-scale campaign to vaccinate children in 19 northern states.
The campaign is part of the effort to boost the immunity of children against measles and meningitis in the country.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), in a statement, said the government through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and WHO, with support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, have kicked off the campaign to reach more than 28 million children with life-saving vaccines.
Speaking on preparations for the campaign, Joseph Oteri, Director of Disease Control and Immunization, NPHCDA, said measles is a highly contagious respiratory viral disease with increased mortality and morbidity in children under five years and Nigeria has experienced repeated outbreaks of measles in recent years due to low routine immunization coverage.
The WHO Team Lead of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), Fiona Braka, said the measles vaccine remains the most cost-effective preventive measure against measles.