The Kwara State Government has announced its readiness to vaccinate over 80,000 children as part of the third round of the Big Catch-Up vaccination campaign, aimed at strengthening immunization efforts and closing immunity gaps in children across the state.

The initiative, which runs from Saturday, April 12 to Thursday, April 17, 2025, is a collaborative effort between the Kwara State Government, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), and other health partners.

According to Professor Nusirat Elelu, Executive Secretary of the Kwara State Primary Health Care Development Agency, the campaign will target children who may have missed their scheduled routine immunizations, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

She disclosed this on Thursday while addressing a strategic meeting with staff of the Agency and representatives of development partners in Ilorin.

Prof. Elelu noted that the Big Catch-Up campaign is to strengthen routine immunization and protect children from Vaccine Preventable Diseases, an exercise which will be implemented in three Local Government Areas (LGAs) with high number of unimmunized children in Kwara State, namely: Baruten, Ilorin East and Ifelodun LGAs.

She stressed that immunization is one of the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions, which has been shown to prevent millions of deaths every year and has reduced morbidity among the vulnerable groups.

The Executive Secretary reiterated that this Big Catch-up campaign is the third round in the series, adding that the exercise will take place in health facilities and outreach posts in every settlement of the 3 LGAs.

Prof. Elelu enjoined all parents, caregivers, religious leaders, schools and Islamic institutions to cooperate with the State Government by making all eligible children available for vaccination, stressing that the campaign is targeted at all children aged 0-5 years who might have missed out on any of their previous doses of vaccine.

The Executive Secretary reiterated that the vaccines are safe and efficacious, as such parents should protect their children from unnecessary sufferings from diseases, as the State Government has made interventions available at no cost to prevent diseases among children, saying that the Kwara State Government will continuously do all that is necessary to protect the health of all residents, especially, mothers and children.