Immunization is critical for public health as it efficiently prevents vaccine-preventable mortality. To this end, the government of Nigeria and its implementing partners invest significantly in a myriad of RI systems strengthening interventions.   However, despite these efforts, northern Nigeria still had a significant number of unvaccinated children. In 2013, the National Demographic and Health Survey revealed that the states of Bauchi, Borno, Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, and Yobe recorded some of the lowest RI coverages in the country. A diagnosis of the situation revealed that funding, ineffective coordination, and deficiencies in program and personnel capacity in the State primary healthcare boards (SPHCBs) contributed to the low coverage numbers.   To address these issues, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Aliko Dangote Foundation partnered with the governments of the six least-performing northern states and other partners to provide funding, drive political will, and invest in catalytic technical assistance- delivered by SCIDaR- channelled towards strengthening routine immunization systems and building institutional capacity for program coordination in a sustainable manner.   Read more