Nigeria Accounts for 10.8% of Global Rubella Cases – Commissioner Raises Alarm

Nigeria’s rubella burden has reached worrying levels, with 461 confirmed cases in 2025, representing 10.8% of the global total, according to Niger State Commissioner for Primary Health Care, Ibrahim Dangana.

Speaking at a one-day workshop on measles and rubella organized by UNICEF in collaboration with the Ministry in Minna, Dangana, represented by State Immunization Officer Abubakar Usman Kpantu, warned that women of childbearing age remain highly vulnerable to Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS). He noted that Nigeria is the second-largest contributor to rubella cases in Africa after the DRC, and accounts for 54% of polio and 37% of global measles and rubella cases.

Dangana stressed that rubella is vaccine-preventable, revealing that the Federal Government and UNICEF will launch a nationwide vaccination campaign in October to protect over 102 million children aged nine months to 14 years.

Citing global data, he said an estimated 100,000 children are born with CRS annually, underscoring the need for robust surveillance and immunization efforts.

UNICEF Niger State Lead Grace Odeyemi urged media professionals to counter misinformation, noting the campaign aims to cut measles and rubella cases to below five per million by 2026 and one per million by 2030.