At the centre of it all was Badagry, where UNICEF and the Republic of Korea formally kicked off a new phase of work aimed at reaching Nigeria’s millions of “zero-dose” children — those who have never received even a single routine vaccine.
But long before dignitaries arrived at Badagry City Hall, the setting itself told its own story: coconut trees bending over white sand roads, fishing boats along creeks, and border checkpoints marking a region where communities predate modern national boundaries.
By morning, the venue had already transformed into a full service outreach point. Tents were arranged across the grounds — vaccines on one side, nutrition screening and food demonstrations on another, and health counselling services tucked behind them. The idea was simple: bring multiple layers of care together in one place.
Inside the hall, government representatives from Lagos and Ogun states, officials from the Republic of Korea, UNICEF teams, and local leaders gathered to mark the start of implementation. Outside, however, services were already in motion.
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| Country Representative Wafaa Saeed, Lee, Sang Ho Consul General, Republic of Korea Embassy and other officials at the flag off ceremony of the Korea-UNICEF investment ©UNICEF/2026/Olu-Samson Daniel |
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| Mrs. Hundeyin Rofiat and her four children ©UNICEF/2026/Olu-Samson Daniel |
Among those arriving at the tents was 29-year-old artisan Rofiat Hundeyi. She came with four children — aged six, five, three, and five months — none of whom had ever received a vaccine.
Her hesitation had lasted years, shaped by fear and misinformation circulating within her community.
“There were many things that people have said. Some say vaccines are not safe, and that increased my fear,” she recalled.
What eventually changed her mind was a sustained intervention from a trusted friend, a nurse, who refused to give up on her concerns.
“She kept encouraging me and following up with me until I began to understand that immunization is safe and important,” Rofiat said.
By the time she arrived at the outreach, she was still uncertain — but willing to try.
Nigeria’s 2.2 million missing children
Rofiat’s situation reflects a much larger national challenge.
Nigeria has an estimated 2.2 million children who have missed routine immunisation services. The reasons vary: misinformation, long distances to health facilities, weak service delivery systems, and entire populations living in places the health system has not consistently reached.
These children are often found in urban slums, riverine communities, border towns, migrant settlements, and areas affected by insecurity or conflict.
Health experts warn that the consequences are severe. Unvaccinated children are highly vulnerable to diseases such as measles, diphtheria, and whooping cough. When outbreaks occur, they spread most rapidly in communities with the lowest immunisation coverage.
UNICEF Nigeria Country Representative Wafaa Saeed described the situation in structural terms rather than scientific failure.
“The existence of millions of unvaccinated children in Nigeria is not a failure of science or of vaccines. It is a failure of reach. And reach is something we can fix if we commit the right resources, the right partnerships, and the right level of urgency to the task,”
A partnership built to close the gap
The new initiative between UNICEF and the Republic of Korea is implemented under the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) framework and is now in its third phase, running from December 2025 to December 2026.
It builds on investments that began in 2023 and is designed to strengthen health systems across both remote and densely populated urban areas.
Six states have been selected: Lagos, Ogun, Kebbi, Bauchi, Adamawa, and the Federal Capital Territory. Together, they represent the complexity of Nigeria’s immunisation landscape — from overcrowded cities where inequality persists, to border communities with highly mobile populations, to regions where insecurity has disrupted healthcare delivery.
The programme will work within Nigeria’s existing national and state systems rather than creating parallel structures. Its focus includes identifying unvaccinated children, strengthening routine immunisation delivery, rebuilding trust between communities and health services, and improving tracking systems.
Importantly, vaccines are not being delivered in isolation. At the Badagry launch, immunisation was paired with nutrition screening, food demonstrations, and health counselling — an integrated approach designed to address multiple child health needs at once.
Korea calls investment a “symbolic goodwill gesture”
Speaking at the event, Mr. Lee Sang Ho, Consul General of the Republic of Korea Embassy in Lagos, framed the partnership as both humanitarian support and system strengthening.
“The Republic of Korea’s investment to reduce cases of unvaccinated children in Nigeria is a symbolic goodwill gesture in response to this challenge to ensure that the trend of zero-dose and under-immunized children is adequately addressed, leading to a state of properly vaccinated children as well as strengthening the Nigerian healthcare system”
Inside the tents: a transformation in real time
For Rofiat, the experience inside the vaccination tents marked a shift she did not expect.
Each of her four children received all required routine vaccines appropriate for their ages — from the infant to the six-year-old. They were also screened for malnutrition, and she received counselling on nutrition and child health, services she said she had never previously accessed.
Watching the injections being administered was emotionally difficult for her.
“It was almost like I was the one receiving injections. I don’t like seeing children in pain, but I understand now that the pain is only for a short time and it is for their good,” she said.
By the time she was leaving, her understanding of immunisation had changed from fear to clarity.
“Now I truly understand the importance of immunization. I can see the difference between a child who is immunized and one who is not. When a child is healthy, the mother is at peace. When a child is sick, the mother is also troubled.”
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| Mrs. Hundeyin Rofiat, alongside her four children, receives a health talk during the flag-off ceremony of the Republic of Korea and UNICEF investment in routine immunization ©UNICEF/2026/Olu-Samson Daniel |
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| Mrs. Hundeyin Rofiat sits in the crowd with her daughter during the flag-off ceremony of the Republic of Korea–UNICEF investment in routine immunization in Nigeria ©UNICEF/2026/Olu-Samson Daniel |
The Badagry flag-off is part of Nigeria’s wider immunisation recovery strategy known as the Big Catch-Up plan. The programme targets 100 high-priority Local Government Areas, which together are estimated to contain more than 1.5 million unvaccinated children.
It also aligns with the National Immunization Strategy Agenda 2030, which aims to strengthen long-term immunisation coverage and health system resilience.
UNICEF emphasised that success will depend on more than short-term outputs.
“Success here will not be measured by what we deliver during the life of this investment. It will be measured by whether Nigeria’s health system - its workers, its data, its community relationships - is permanently stronger because of it” said Wafaa Saeed, UNICEF Nigeria Country Representative.
That includes stronger primary healthcare facilities, better-trained community health workers, improved data systems that can identify missed children early, and lasting trust between families and the health system.
The road to Badagry — and what it represents
The journey into Badagry itself reflects why the programme matters. The route passes coconut-lined roads, fishing settlements, and long-standing border communities where movement across boundaries is routine and health systems often struggle to keep pace.
By the time officials arrived at Badagry City Hall, the real work had already begun outside — children being vaccinated, mothers receiving counselling, and families encountering structured healthcare services for perhaps the first time.
For Rofiat, the significance of the day was personal rather than political.
She left not only with vaccinated children, but with a new role in her community — one she had already begun to define.
“I am grateful I made this decision. Immunization helps children grow strong and healthy.”