Abuja, 16 October 2015 - The World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the government, has recently intensified its efforts to reach the most marginalised, hard-to-reach and nomadic communities of the North Central region of the country.

Following the adoption of a blueprint, states of Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau are working assiduously to provide the required health interventions to pastoral nomadic populations in their respective states with a view to boost population immunity and improve disease surveillance. 

Difficulties have been experienced in the past in tracking and reaching nomadic populations with services such as sensitization on early disease reporting, immunization activities and access to general healthcare services due largely to the nature of their movement, which often involves settling in hard-to-reach transit camps.

Presently, intensified interventions in the three states include weekly routine immunization outreach services along nomadic routes and transit camps, setting up of health camps for treatment of minor ailments as well as community sensitization on disease reporting. 

In 2014, surveillance data analysis revealed that, 50% of recorded polio cases in Nigeria had proximity to nomadic populations.

The vulnerability of the pastoral nomadic communities was explained by Umaru Ibrahim, the head of the Fulani community of Akwanga local government area (LGA) in Nassarawa state as he stated that “nomadic families sometimes do not know where to locate or how to access health services in areas which are new to them. As a result, our children and wives often times miss out, leaving thousands of eligible children unimmunized and bereft of ante-natal care”.

Preliminary results from the intensification of activities showed that 74 acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases and 19 measles cases have been reported since the expansion of activities in the three states. In Niger alone, WHO supported the state to immunize 130,460 nomadic children from January to September 2015, across 233 wards of 25 LGAs. In addition, 258 heads of Fulani nomadic communities have been engaged and currently serve as key informants for community-based AFP and surveillance.

“With these figures, we are working towards the total  realization of the vision enshrined in the Global Vaccine Action Plan (Decade of Vaccines, 2011–2020) in which all individuals and communities enjoy lives free from vaccine-preventable diseases and the full benefit of immunization to all people through equitable access to immunization“ the WHO North Central Zonal Coordinator, Fadinding Manneh stated.

Evaluating the impact of the interventions, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry for Health of Plateau State commended WHO for intensifying support to states to target pastoral nomadic populations and observed that “support for activities such as the in-between immunization rounds would be sustained so that the underserved nomadic, interstate border and hard-to-reach communities would always be provided with the required services”.

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For more information, please contact:

Technical contacts

Dr Fiona Braka; Tel: +234 703 170 5252; Email: brakaf [at] who.int  
Mr Fadinding Manneh; Tel: +234 803 535 4372; Email: mannehf [at] who.int  

Media contact

Ms  Charity Warigon; Tel: +234 810 221 0093; Email: warigonc [at] who.int
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Below:

01 Nomads traversing through Jos, Plateau state

02 Nomadic mother and children displaying their immunization cards

03 WHO personnel sensitizing heads of Fulani communities in Akwanga, Nassarawa state