This partnership, which was officially flagged off on April 16, 2026 to address a critical “zero-dose” crisis referring to children who have not received even a single routine vaccine. The intervention is particularly vital because Nigeria currently carries the highest burden of unvaccinated children in Africa.
The Republic of Korea has allocated $5.6 million to Nigeria as part of a larger $20 million global partnership with UNICEF. The program focuses on six high-burden regions; Lagos, Ogun, Bauchi, Niger, Adamawa, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The implementation period runs from December 2025 to December 2026.
​As UNICEF Representative Wafaa Saeed pointed out during the launch in Badagry, this isn’t a “failure of science” we know vaccines work. Instead, it’s a failure of equity and reach.
The 2.2 million children missing out typically live in Fragile urban settlements and slums or remote border communities where healthcare infrastructure is sparse. While some children are in Conflict-affected settings where service delivery is frequently interrupted.
To bridge this gap, the intervention isn’t just about handing out vials; it’s about rebuilding the system, using data to find “lost” children who have fallen through the cracks of the current system.
Working with local and traditional leaders to combat vaccine hesitancy and rebuild confidence in primary healthcare and delivering vaccines alongside other essential health services to maximize the impact of every clinical visit.
It’s a bold move to treat this as a “moral and political responsibility” rather than just a medical one. If successful, it could provide a blueprint for how other nations handle similar healthcare “blind spots.”
