Heartland Alliance Nigeria is supporting the Government of Nigeria and the State Primary Healthcare Development Agencies (SPHCDA) in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Lagos, Niger, and the Jigawa States in its vaccination roll-out using the differentiated Service delivery model across the One-stop-shop and other satellite sites.

Since the start of the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out globally, HALG has been advocating for the inclusion of hard-to-reach and marginalized persons. With a simple theory of change, that if community context and nuances are used to strengthen and deploy effective RISK Communication in a coordinated manner to mobilize for COVID-19 vaccinations, then, there will be improved vaccine acceptance and uptake across Project sites.

The vaccination exercise was flagged off by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Bartholomew Ochonye in January 2022 during the activation of 17 vaccination sites at the One-Stop Shops with the support of the PHC Directors across the six states. With support from PEPFAR and USAID, HALG is targeting over 150,000 persons with more than 200 persons receiving the jabs daily. More than 400 persons have been trained on COVID-19 vaccine-related topics with USAID support.

To sustain the gains already made and continue to reduce the risk of transmission, HALG is supporting the community through non-pharmaceutical interventions, training of Health Care workers and Staff on Infectious Disease Prevention and Control (IPAC), healthcare workers and non-healthcare workers training on risk  communication and community engagement, provision of critical WASH supplies, provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and near real-time Social Listening and dynamic rumor management to help flatten the Infodemic curve.  The hope is that with the inclusion of Key population and hard-to-reach persons in the vaccine roll-out, the number of cases and negative impact of COVID-19 will be reduced in Nigeria.