Northern Nigeria Polio Immunization Religious Leaders Campaign
Nigeria (Northern States), West Africa
After a 2003 boycott by religious and political leaders in Northern Nigeria (citing fears of vaccine contamination and Western agendas), a strategic engagement campaign transformed Muslim clerics from rejectors to advocates. The Northern Traditional Leaders Committee, supported by the Sultan of Sokoto, trained Jumua imams (Friday prayer leaders) using fatwas on vaccination and prepared sermons. Wild poliovirus cases dropped 95% from 2009-2010. Kano State, once the epicenter of vaccine rejection, became Nigerias best-performing state.
Behavior Goal
Overcome vaccine hesitancy and achieve polio immunization coverage through religious leader advocacy and Friday sermon messaging
Target Audiences
Methods & Approaches
Implementers & Partners
- Northern Traditional Leaders Committee
- National Primary Health Care Development Agency
- WHO
- UNICEF
- Rotary International
Donors & Sponsors
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Rotary International
- USAID
- WHO
- UNICEF
Key Takeaways
- 1Engaging the Sultan of Sokoto (highest Muslim authority) was critical for legitimacy
- 2Training imams with Islamic fatwas on vaccination countered religious objections
- 3Coalition of polio survivors, doctors, and clerics visited refusing households
- 4Transformation from boycott to advocacy required addressing historical distrust of Western interventions