Diphtheria Vaccination Campaign in Maiduguri, Nigeria

Médecins Sans Frontières, in collaboration with the Nigeria===Borno State Ministry of Health, has completed a large-scale diphtheria vaccination campaign in Nigeria===Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, Nigeria. The campaign targeted children under 14 years, reaching approximately 490,000 children in the first round and 360,000 in a follow-up round. This initiative comes as Nigeria grapples with one of its worst diphtheria outbreaks, with the Nigeria===Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reporting 65,759 suspected cases and 2,229 deaths as of March 22, 2026. Nigeria===Borno State remains among the hardest-hit areas due to gaps in routine immunization, population displacement, and limited healthcare access. Médecins Sans Frontières has treated over 7,400 suspected cases in Nigeria===Borno State since 2023 and is also supporting response efforts in Nigeria===Bauchi State, Nigeria===Kano State, and Nigeria===Sokoto State. Despite the success of the campaign, limited vaccine availability constrained the full scope of the response, and public health experts emphasize the need for sustained routine immunization and improved access in volatile areas to prevent future surges of vaccine-preventable diseases.