By John Ekah, Gusau
Zamfara State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Nafisa Muhammad Maradun, has lauded Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) for its swift and comprehensive response to recent measles outbreak in Zurmi Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
This was disclosed in a statement by Information Officer of the Health Ministry, Comrade Suleiman Isah.
“We are immensely grateful for MSF’s initiatives,” she stated.
Lauding the international medical humanitarian organization’s large-scale vaccination campaign launched this month in collaboration with the Ministry, the Commissioner expressed joy that the efforts were yielding success.
“Their efforts are crucial in curbing the spread of this dangerous disease and protecting our children,” Dr Maradun noted.
MSF teams were actively vaccinating children in a school today as part of the campaign.
The ambitious initiative aims to inoculate 80,000 children aged 6 months to five years across 11 wards in Zurmi.
The primary objective is to rapidly halt measles transmission and prevent further fatalities.
In addition to vaccinations, MSF teams conduct malnutrition screenings using Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) measurements, referring under-nourished children to nearby health centers for vital treatment.
The urgent campaign comes as Zurmi LGA grapples with an alarming surge in measles cases.
By early May, over 1,600 suspected cases had been reported across all 11 wards, significantly exceeding typical levels and reaching epidemic proportions.
Many severely ill children also presented with co-existing conditions such as eye infections, malaria, and poor nutrition, exacerbating their health.
To ensure widespread coverage, MSF is deploying both fixed vaccination sites and mobile teams to reach remote and hard-to-access communities.
The organization aims to vaccinate at least 95% of the target age group, a critical threshold for achieving community-wide protection and effectively stopping the outbreak.
