Taraba Targets 6 High-Risk LGAs in Tetanus-Diphtheria Vaccination Drive

The Taraba State Primary Health Care Development Agency (TSPHCDA) has commenced preparations for a comprehensive Tetanus-Diphtheria (TD) vaccination campaign targeting females aged 15 to 49 years across six high-risk local government areas, in a decisive push to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus and strengthen protection against diphtheria.

The campaign, scheduled to run from September 28 to October 2, 2026, will focus on Gassol, Lau, Sardauna, Ussa, Ibi and Gashaka local government areas, which have been identified as high-risk zones for maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT). The intervention is being supported by UNICEF and the Federal Government, with additional vaccines being secured for vulnerable areas.

Dr Tukura Nuhu Nyigwa, Executive Secretary of TSPHCDA, disclosed the agency's plans during a stakeholders' sensitisation meeting held in Jalingo, the state capital, ahead of the campaign. He explained that the corrective vaccination exercise was designed to protect women of childbearing age and newborns from the vaccine-preventable disease, which remains a significant public health concern in Nigeria despite being entirely 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," Nyigwa said. "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." He stressed that neonatal tetanus is particularly dangerous during the first month of life, noting that unhygienic delivery practices and improper care of the umbilical cord can expose newborns to infection.

Taraba State has been identified as having the highest risk of maternal and neonatal tetanus in Nigeria's North-East region, with six of the 28 high-risk local government areas across the five states in the region located within the state. This classification underscores the urgency of the campaign and the need for intensified interventions to remove the affected areas from the high-risk category.

The campaign has drawn broad stakeholder support, with health officials, development partners, traditional and religious leaders, communication and social mobilisation teams, and representatives of private schools all pledging to mobilise residents for the exercise. The Chairman of the Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NNM), Taraba State chapter, Nr Merigi Pius Nathaniel, said nurses across the state would be mobilised through their platforms at local government and state levels to ensure effective awareness and participation, with particular attention to educating pregnant women in maternity units and labour rooms.

The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Taraba State chapter, led by Dr Bitrus Atizwen Daniel, commended the state government and TSPHCDA for organising the engagement and pledged the association's support through community mobilisation, management of adverse events following immunisation, and referral of cases requiring specialised medical attention. He stressed the importance of combating misinformation and ensuring residents received accurate information about the vaccination exercise.

The State Immunisation Officer, Mr. Nafiu Yahaya Umar, disclosed that vaccination teams would visit schools and communities in the targeted local government areas rather than relying solely on health facilities, with hard-to-reach settlements, nomadic communities, and people living around mountainous and riverine areas also being targeted. He emphasised that women need five appropriately timed doses of tetanus-containing vaccine to achieve long-term protection, while those who have not previously received the vaccine require appropriate doses during pregnancy in line with national immunisation guidelines.

The vaccination campaign comes against the backdrop of Taraba State's first confirmed case of diphtheria, which resulted in the death of a patient in Bali Local Government Area earlier this month. The State Epidemiologist, Dr Udi Aketemo, confirmed the fatality, explaining that the patient died from the acute bacterial infection before comprehensive clinical management could be administered. He said 14 suspected cases were subsequently identified and tested, with all samples returning negative results, and that the Ministry of Health had activated its full surveillance architecture to contain the infection and prevent community transmission.

The inclusion of diphtheria vaccination in the campaign is particularly significant, as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has identified diphtheria as a growing public health threat across the country, with the most effective protection being vaccination with the Pentavalent or Tetanus-Diphtheria vaccine. By integrating diphtheria protection into the MNT elimination drive, Taraba State is adopting a comprehensive approach that addresses multiple vaccine-preventable diseases simultaneously.

As the campaign gets underway, the TSPHCDA has urged traditional and religious leaders, private school proprietors, teachers, women's groups, and the media to support the initiative by mobilising eligible women and children and disseminating accurate information about the safety and benefits of vaccination. For the thousands of women and newborns in Taraba's high-risk communities, the five-day exercise represents a critical opportunity to protect themselves and their children from diseases that should no longer claim lives.