Taraba Agency Begins Fresh Tetanus Vaccination In High Risk Areas

The Taraba State Primary Health Care Development Agency (TSPHCDA), has commenced preparations for a corrective vaccination campaign against maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) in six high-risk local government areas of the state.

According to the agency, Gassol, Lau, Sardauna, Ussa, Ibi and Gashaka are the high risk local government in the state.

The executive secretary of the agency, Dr Tukura Nuhu Nyigwa, disclosed this during a stakeholders’ engagement meeting on the campaign in Jalingo.

He said, the intervention was aimed at protecting women of childbearing age and newborns from the vaccine-preventable disease.

Dr. Nyigwa, maintained that, maternal and neonatal tetanus remained a public health concern in Nigeria due to poverty, inadequate health services, cultural practices and limited awareness, despite being preventable through vaccination and hygienic delivery practices.

“We want to eliminate tetanus. Tetanus is one of the vaccine-preventable diseases that we have in the country.

“In advanced countries, they hardly have tetanus again, but because of cultural factors, poverty, ignorance and weaknesses in the health system, women and children are still dying from it.”

According to him, neonatal tetanus is particularly dangerous during the first month of life, stressing that unhygienic delivery practices and improper care of the umbilical cord could expose newborns to infection.

The Agency’s ES, who recalled a recent case involving a woman who delivered in a private hospital, said the newborn’s umbilical cord became infected, and further stressed the need for proper education of mothers and birth attendants on safe cord care and clean delivery practices.

He said, women require adequate doses of the diphtheria-tetanus (DT) vaccine at recommended intervals to develop sustained protection against the diseases and also protect their unborn children.

He further disclosed that Taraba was working with the Federal Government and development partners to secure additional vaccines, particularly for areas considered vulnerable to the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Dr. Nyigwa also urged traditional and religious leaders, private school proprietors, teachers, women groups and the media to support the campaign by mobilising eligible women and children and disseminating accurate information about the safety and benefits of vaccination.

He added, Taraba had recorded relatively fewer outbreaks of diphtheria compared with some other states, and attributed the situation to the commitment of health workers, government and development partners to routine immunisation.

He, however, disclosed that a suspected case of diphtheria had been identified in Bali and was undergoing confirmation, while the state was working with national authorities and partners to strengthen surveillance and vaccination.

The State Immunisation Officer, Mr. Nafiu Yahaya Umar, said 6 local government areas had been identified as high-risk areas for the MNT campaign because cases of the disease had previously been reported in them.

According to him, women need five appropriately timed doses of tetanus-containing vaccine to achieve long-term protection, while women who have not previously received the vaccine require appropriate doses during pregnancy in line with national immunisation guidelines.

Mr. Umar said, vaccination teams would visit schools and communities in the targeted LGAs rather than relying solely on health facilities, noting that hard-to-reach settlements, nomadic communities and people living around mountainous and riverine areas would also be targeted.

The State Health Educator of the agency, Mrs Christians Habila, said the stakeholders’ engagement was designed to ensure that participants understood the objectives and implementation strategy of the corrective campaign.

Mrs. Habila said stakeholders would also agree on action points leading to and during the campaign scheduled for September 28 to October 2, 2026.