South Korea Invests $5.6M in Nigeria's Child Immunization

South Korea has allocated $5.6 million to improve child immunization in Lagos and four other states: Ogun, Niger, Bauchi, and Adamawa. The announcement was made by Mr. Sang Ho Lee, the Korean Consul General in Nigeria, during a flag-off ceremony in Badagry, Lagos, in collaboration with UNICEF.

The project aims to reduce the number of zero-dose children and enhance vaccination coverage across 40 local government areas. The initiative will focus on vaccination campaigns in outbreak-prone communities and strengthening the immunization system.

Mr. Babatunde Hunp, Chairman of Badagry Local Government Area, emphasized the cost-effectiveness of immunization in protecting lives and communities from diseases such as measles, polio, and diphtheria, which claim millions of lives across Africa. Mr. Wafaa Saeed, UNICEF Country Representative in Nigeria, noted that vaccines save at least four million lives globally each year, highlighting that two million children in Nigeria have not received any vaccinations despite the country being declared free of wild poliovirus by the World Health Organization in 2020.