ABUJA/ADDIS ABABA/LONDON, 29 January 2025 – Two groundbreaking projects aimed at improving child immunisation rates in Nigeria and Ethiopia have received nearly $100,000 each in funding from the Save the Children Immunisation Accelerator, supported by GSK.
The initiative, launched in April 2024, was created to empower local organisations with innovative solutions to tackle the pressing issue of ‘zero-dose’ children—those who have never received routine vaccinations. Nigeria has an estimated 2.1 million zero-dose children, while Ethiopia has nearly one million, according to WHO/UNICEF national immunization coverage estimates (2023).
From 120 submissions, The Centre for Integrated Health Programs (CIHP) in Nigeria and HABTech Solutions PLC in Ethiopia were selected for their pioneering approaches to increasing vaccine uptake.
Nigeria: Community-Led Approach to Overcoming Vaccine Hesitancy
CIHP has developed a ‘positive deviance’ model, where caregivers who have successfully vaccinated their children share their experiences with hesitant parents, helping to shift perceptions and increase immunisation rates.
Dr. Bolanle Oyeledun, CEO of CIHP, highlighted the importance of community involvement:
“Our innovation will leverage lessons from our positive deviance approach to address caregiver-driven vaccine hesitancy in northern Nigeria. We will work with Lagos State communities to co-creatively address challenges to low immunization uptake, particularly in urban slums. This funding will help us identify gaps and ensure more children receive life-saving vaccines.”
Ethiopia: Data-Driven Solutions for Better Vaccine Coverage
HABTech Solutions is leveraging advanced data analytics and visualization to improve immunisation decision-making. Their technology will identify hard-to-reach communities, track vaccine shortages, and ensure precise mapping of zero-dose children.
Adane Letta Mamuye, General Manager at HABTech, explained:
“Our innovation empowers stakeholders with data-driven interventions, ensuring that no child is overlooked. By using analytics to track immunisation trends and supply issues, we can enable more precise and effective vaccination efforts.”
Scaling Up Local Innovations for Global Impact
Ermias Teshome, Lead for the Save the Children Immunisation Accelerator, emphasized the need for community-led solutions:
“Every child deserves access to life-saving vaccinations. The projects by CIHP and HABTech Solutions show immense potential for scalable, impactful change. We are excited to support them in transforming immunisation outcomes in Nigeria, Ethiopia, and beyond.”
The innovations will be piloted alongside existing vaccination programmes run by Save the Children and GSK in both countries. A second call for submissions will be announced in April 2025.
For more information, visit www.stc-accelerator.org.
For media inquiries, contact:
Delfhin Mugo – Media Manager, East and Southern Africa
✉ Delfhin.Mugo@savethechildren.org
For urgent press inquiries (BST): media@savethechildren.org.uk / ☎ +44(0)7831 650409
