The All Babies Programme, implemented by New Incentives – All Babies Are Equal (NI-ABAE), has reaffirmed its commitment to improving vaccine cold chain coordination and accountability across northern Nigeria.
The programme convened a two-day Roundtable Meeting of Cold Chain Stakeholders on Oct. 24–25 at Tahir Guest Palace, Kano, to strengthen collaboration in vaccine supply chains across its 14 operational states.
The meeting brought together 35 participants drawn from zonal and state cold chain offices (ZCCOs/SCCOs), the Kano State Primary Health Care Board, NI-ABAE officials, and development partners.
The participating states include Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara — covering the North-West, North-East, and part of the North-Central region.
Declaring the meeting open, NI-ABAE’s Stakeholder Relations Director, Mr Nura Muhammad, said the session sought to enhance synergy among cold chain actors and ensure timely delivery of vaccines at the grassroots.
The Senior State Partnerships Manager, Mr Abdulwahab Yusuf, who moderated the discussions, said this was the sixth physical meeting since the series began in 2023, in addition to monthly virtual coordination sessions.
During the technical session, NI-ABAE Monitoring and Learning Officer II, Ms Nana Ize, presented the 2025 third quarter (Q3) impact report showing progress in reducing zero-dose infants.
According to her, Katsina and Zamfara States recorded the sharpest declines, each with 40-percentage-point drops, while Kaduna State recorded a 15-percentage-point reduction since the programme’s rollout.
“As of Q3 2025, the programme has enrolled 5.6 million infants across 204 local government areas, supporting 7,128 clinics and 60,000 settlements,” she said.
She added that since inception, All Babies had encouraged over 85 million vaccinations and disbursed more than ₦32 billion in direct cash transfers to caregivers.
Mr Yusuf presented a comparative analysis of vaccine stock trends between 2024 and 2025, highlighting national-level shortages of Rota vaccines, redistribution delays, and incomplete reporting on OpenLMIS — Nigeria’s national vaccine-tracking platform.
Stakeholders resolved to strengthen real-time data visibility, improve the timeliness of OpenLMIS updates, and enhance coordination between state and local government levels to reduce stockouts before the end of 2025.
They also agreed to collaborate with the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) to advocate for increased funding and logistics support to enable the smooth movement of vaccines from LGA cold stores to clinics.
Participants further noted ongoing national supply constraints and confirmed that Rota vaccine shipments delayed by manufacturing issues were expected to arrive by Nov. 1, 2025.
The Niger State Cold Chain Officer, Mr Abubakar Hussaini, commended the All Babies programme for its impact on vaccine awareness and turnout.
“All Babies has done a great job increasing vaccination awareness and turnout in Niger State. Caregivers now come out in large numbers. We hope the programme expands nationwide so every child benefits from these life-saving vaccines,” he said.
The meeting concluded with a joint communiqué committing partners to train routine immunisation providers on stock management, strengthen supervision, and ensure timely vaccine movement from storage facilities to clinics.
Other resolutions include implementing Niger State’s “one-time supply” model for hard-to-reach areas, enforcing OpenLMIS compliance, and organising zonal coordination meetings in Kano to address facility-level pickup delays.
Through these measures, All Babies and its partners reaffirmed their shared commitment to ensuring every child, regardless of location, has timely access to life-saving vaccines.