Strengthening Immunization in Underserved Communities in Nigeria
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Community immunization at Mai Adu settlement in Nigeria. Credit: JSI Nigeria
The distance between a life-saving vaccine and a child’s arm is measured in trust, logistics, and data visibility. For millions of children living in hard-to-reach and security-compromised regions, this journey can present even greater challenges.
With support from funders Nadační fond Kladné nuly and the Chicago Community Trust, JSI works in close collaboration with Nigeria’s health sector to bolster immunization coverage in nine focus states. Using behavior change communication, JSI works with community mobilizers to enhance demand generation.
In March 2026, we worked with Mallama Balkisu Isah, a local health provider, and Mallam Abubakar Hassan, a data officer, in the Mai Adu settlement – a critical trade location on Nigeria’s northern border.
Community leaders invited nineteen caregivers and their children to the village head’s home. The caregivers were seated in a shaded area on mats, while Balkisu discussed the life-saving importance of vaccination. With each caregiver, Balkisu took time to explain the health benefits, management of side effects (i.e., adverse events following immunization), and the schedule for the next doses.
Abubakar joined Balkisu to document vaccinations received by each child into the JSI mobile DHIS2 application, which feeds into the national health data repository (DHIS2). This recording ensures immunization coverage is reflected at a national level at the end of each month.
All 19 children present and due for immunizations were vaccinated. This success in acceptance was driven by the strong rapport Balkisu built with caregivers. The service data, captured digitally, enabled accurate tracking of who was immunized by the vaccination teams.
Working with community members and leaders to shape the way communities receive care ensures communities are actually reached with health services. Community leaders so involved that they invite community members into their homes, careful counseling from a community health figure, diligent and real-time documentation – these are best practices, essential to reaching the unreachable children. Through approaches like these, JSI, in collaboration with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency in Nigeria, has protected 99,413 children against vaccine-preventable illnesses across these nine supported regions.