National Enumeration Programme Boosts Polio Vaccination Coverage Across 14 States

By Ojoma Akor

Hundreds of thousands of children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding women across 14 states have received life-saving polio vaccines through a nationally innovative community enumeration program designed to ensure that no eligible child is missed, the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) has revealed.

The Institute’s Identify, Enumerate and Vaccinate (IEV) Project, as a sub-recipient of the grant in three of these states: Kebbi, Sokoto and Kano, uses digital line lists of eligible children and pregnant women to support microplanning for polio vaccination and other primary healthcare (PHC) services.

Speaking with Health and Science Africa, IHVN’s Senior Technical Advisor for Advocacy and Stakeholder Engagement, Dr. Temitope Kolade, said the initiative also strengthens the delivery of routine immunization and other PHC interventions for children under five, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers.

She described the IEV Project as a systematic, community-based approach that identifies and registers every eligible child, pregnant woman, and breastfeeding mother before immunization campaigns begin, helping to ensure that no one is left behind. Funded by the Gates Foundation and implemented by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), in partnership with IHVN as a sub-recipient of the grant.

According to Dr. Kolade, the program, which began in Kebbi, Sokoto, and Kano states, has expanded to Jigawa, Katsina, Borno, Yobe, Zamfara, Kaduna, Adamawa, Bauchi, Kwara, Nasarawa, and Niger states, extending its reach to more vulnerable communities across the country.

According to Dr. Kolade, the initiative, which began in Kano, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto, Katsina, Borno, Yobe, Zamfara, and Kaduna states, has since expanded to Adamawa, Bauchi, Kwara, Nasarawa, and Niger states, extending its reach to more vulnerable communities across the country.

She said the project was established to strengthen polio immunization by identifying all eligible children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers, and by using accurate community data to deliver timely routine immunizations, polio vaccines, and other primary healthcare services in priority states.

Dr. Kolade described polio as a highly infectious but vaccine-preventable disease that mainly affects children under five, warning that it can cause lifelong paralysis and, in severe cases, death.

She explained that the initiative begins with an annual, phased household enumeration exercise to capture newborns, pregnant women, and other eligible beneficiaries before vaccination starts.

“The enumeration gives us an accurate picture of the children who need to be vaccinated. Instead of relying on population projections, we work with verified field data, enabling better planning and more effective immunization campaigns,” she said.

According to her, IHVN teams visit communities—including hard-to-reach areas—to identify eligible children and register pregnant women, generating reliable data for evidence-based planning. “The enumeration figures become our benchmark for measuring performance. So, when we report 80 or 90 percent vaccination coverage, those figures are based on verified field data rather than estimates,” she added.

Dr. Kolade said the active involvement of traditional and religious leaders has strengthened community acceptance of vaccines, enabling vaccination teams to reach more children and pregnant women.

She added that the project uses a continuous data verification process to ensure no eligible child is missed. “If a child is away at school, running an errand, or temporarily absent during our visit, we record the child as absent and update the information when we return for vaccination.”

Household records are also updated before immunization to capture new births and newly identified eligible children. “If we initially record five children in a household but later find six or seven, we update the register accordingly. We only include children who are permanent members of that household,” she explained.

Dr. Kolade said the continuous verification process has improved the accuracy of immunization records and strengthened efforts to ensure that every eligible child receives life-saving protection against polio, adding that the IEV Project is being expanded in phases, beginning with states that have historically recorded the highest disease burden and the lowest vaccination coverage.

“Our goal is to extend the project across the country, subject to available funding, so that every child, regardless of where they live, has access to life-saving vaccines. As vaccination coverage increases and herd immunity strengthens, Nigeria will move closer to a healthier, better-protected population,” she said.