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WHO estimates 6.2m Nigerian children unvaccinated due to COVID-19

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 6.2 million Nigerian children are zero doses (unvaccinated), a consequence of the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from 2019 to 2021.
Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said this in Abuja on Tuesday at a news conference to celebrate the African Vaccination Week (AVW) and World Immunization Week with the theme “The Big Catch-Up’’.
“The Big Catch Up is actually a year-long campaign aiming to reverse the serious setbacks in routine immunization.
“We acknowledge current efforts by government for 83 per cent reduction in circulating Variant Polio Virus type 2.
“Also a significant feat in sustaining certification for the eradication Wild Polio Virus in Nigeria,’’ she said.
Moeti, represented by Dr Walter Mulombo, WHO Country Representative to Nigeria, said that an estimated 33 million children would need to be vaccinated in Africa between 2023 and 2025.
According to her, such will put the continent back on track to achieve the 2030 global immunization goals that include reducing morbidity and mortality from vaccine-preventable diseases.
“In the Africa Region, WHO estimate show that the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on routine immunization services has driven up the number of zero-dose and under-immunized children
“The effect causes rising by 16 per cent between 2019 and 2021 and pushing the cumulative total (2019–2021) to around 33 million, which represents nearly half the global estimate.
“In Nigeria, WHO estimates that in 2019 to 2021, 6.2 million children are zero dose; a consequence of the negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic,’’ she said.
According to her, reaching these children will require renewed and intensified efforts by governments and partners.
Moeti said that to galvanise the commitments required, WHO conducted a high-level event during the African Union Summit in February 2023.
“At the summit, African Heads of State endorsed a declaration aimed at revamping and scaling up routine immunisation across the continent.
“Also, to implementing urgent measures to address persistent bottlenecks in vaccine and health care delivery systems,’’ she said.
The regional director said the day was a global push by WHO and partners to intensify efforts to reach children, who missed vaccinations, as well as to restore and strengthen routine immunization programmes.
“The proactiveness of the government and the National Primary Health Care Agency for implementing the Optimized Outreach Sessions, integration of Routine Immunization during COVID-19 vaccination, Measles and Yellow Fever Supplementary Immunization Activities.
“These are key for the reduction in the high burden of zero-dose children in Nigeria and align the theme for the 2023 AVW celebration.
“The plan to introduce malaria vaccine in routine immunisation and Human Papillomavirus Vaccine (HPV) in 2023 and 2024 are commendable,
“This is as it aligns with establishing a life-course platform for immunization for optimum dividend from vaccination,’’ she said.
Moeti said that the day required the full participation of all key stakeholders including the media to communicate with caregivers to take children for routine immunisation services at the nearest health facility.
She encouraged the media to create awareness to enable children who missed their immunisation schedules to go to the nearest health facility to be assessed and vaccinated appropriately.
According to her, it is necessary to encourage community leaders to take responsibility to organise and participate fully in the conduct of immunization sessions including monitoring uptake of vaccines in the community
“We need to encourage traditional and religious leaders with Civil Society Groups to mobilise the community to always demand and access immunisation services.
“The media should let them know that vaccine is safe and effective against vaccine-preventable diseases,’’ she said.
The regional director said that for the organisation support for AVW, it was supporting Nigeria’s full participation in the Regional Working Group for Catch-up to ensure effective planning.
She said it would also ensure resource mobilisation for the 20 countries with high burden of zero dose children in the region.
“WHO since 2015 issued revised immunisation scheduled to support the “Big Catch-up” where children who have missed being vaccinated can be safely vaccinated with appropriate vaccines.
“This is part of over 15 guidelines and strategies issued to countries including Nigeria.
“We are also supporting the NPHCDA engagement with 36 states and the FCT to develop tailored strategies to reach zero dose and unimmunised children
According to her, WHO has prioritised technical support for the Zero Dose agenda and the “Big Catch-up” in all the states and the Local Government Areas. (NAN)
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Rack Centre hosts Olla Systems’ private cloud infrastructure, OllaCloud Service

Rack Centre, West Africa’s leading Tier III Carrier and Cloud neutral data centre, has welcomed Olla Cloud Service, a new private cloud service by Olla Systems Limited, a leading provider of innovative technology solutions, to its facility.
Hosting at Rack Centre, Olla Cloud Service runs on a state-of-the-art, cloud-enabled infrastructure for enterprise applications across diverse platforms including mission critical application, web applications as well as containerized applications using Kubernetes.
The CEO of Rack Centre, Lars Johannisson, welcoming Olla Systems, noted that the partnership with Olla Systems Limited reflects the company’s commitment to providing African businesses with high-quality cloud computing services. He noted that Olla Systems will enjoy Rack Centre’s 13.5MW data centre campus facility, designed to meet the highest international standards and offering scalable solutions to Hyperscalers, Enterprises, & Cloud service providers.
Citing three distinct features of the data centre facility, he stated the 100% uptime since inception, the facility’s AI-readiness and adoption of green practices. As part of its commitment to sustainability, the facility is equipped with energy-efficient systems, advanced cooling technologies to mitigate environmental impact and an optimally-designed feature to handle high-density workloads with precision.
With features such as N+2 high-efficiency cooling units, an integrated Building Management System (BMS) for optimal performance, and the lowest Power Usage Efficiency (PUE) in the region, the data centre campus facility combines capacity, sustainability, and innovation. This reinforces the position of Rack Centre as a leader in the Nigerian data centre market that will aid the development of Nigeria and West Africa’s digital ecosystem.
Johannisson reiterated, “With Olla Cloud Service hosting at Rack Centre, clients will experience fast performance and low latency, enabling businesses in Africa to access world-class cloud computing services within a secure and compliant local infrastructure.”
Also speaking, Chief Executive Officer, Olla Systems Limited, Olusola Adenuga, expressed enthusiasm about hosting at Rack Centre, noting that OllaCloud remains a groundbreaking private cloud solution for businesses.
While highlighting the benefits of the partnership between Rack Centre and Olla Systems, Adenuga disclosed that subscribing to OllaCloud Service is cost-effective to customers because of its local currency payment advantage. She also noted that the partnership between the duo provides businesses the opportunity to meet regulatory requirements of data residency, while enjoying world-class infrastructure as a service (IaaS) locally.
“Other benefits of hosting with OllaCloud include: 24/7 support, unparalleled performance, scalability and agility.” she added.
OllaCloud Service is the perfect fit for businesses with high-performance needs, from startups with rapid growth plans to enterprises with large-scale operations. Whether you need to migrate existing workloads or build new cloud-native applications, our solution provides the foundation for digital transformation. ENDS
About Rack Centre
Rack Centre is the leading Tier III Carrier and cloud-neutral data centre in the West African region.
Established in 2012, the company focuses solely on providing best-in-class data centre colocation services and interconnection between carriers and customers. Knowing this gives customers a technically superior, physically more secure, and lower-cost environment for their information systems.
The Carrier and Cloud neutrality advantage allows customers to manage traffic to get better value, lower latency, and higher resilience. It also creates an open market for partnerships between customers, networks, cloud and content providers, the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria, AF-CIX, a fast-growing IXP and managed service providers.
Rack Centre’s clientele includes 70+ telecommunication carriers, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), global Tier 1 networks, and pan Africa international carriers, including direct interconnections to all undersea cables serving the South Atlantic Coast of Africa, including Equiano and in the foreseeable future 2Africa and every country on the Atlantic coast of Africa.
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Police arrest suspected kidnapper after collecting ransom in Delta

A police patrol team and vigilante group from Ibusa Division have arrested a suspected kidnapper, Abdulahi Isah, after he allegedly collected ransom from his victim.
The suspect, who is cooling his heels in police custody, was arrested in the Ibusa bush on 12/3/2025.
Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, confirmed the report in a statement sent to our correspondent in Warri.
The police spokesperson said, “On 12/3/2025, at about 1100 hours, an indigene of Ibusa (name withheld) reported at Ibusa Police Station that his friend’s wife was kidnapped on 7/3/2025 and a ransom was paid. He stated that he was the one who delivered the ransom and other food items to the kidnappers.”
According to SP Edafe, “Acting on useful information provided by the said man, the DPO of Ibusa Police Station swiftly mobilized the patrol team of Ibusa Division alongside vigilantes and stormed the bush, where the suspect, Abdulahi Isah, was arrested.”
He added, “The suspect is in custody, and the investigation is ongoing.
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Raye: Sowore, lawyers accompany NYSC corper as officials summon her over comment against Tinubu

Omoyele Sowore and other activists, including lawyers, accompanied the Lagos-based National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, member, Ushie Uguamaye, also known as Raye, to the office of her Local Government Inspector, LGI, who summoned her over a viral video.
Gatekeeper recalls that Raye recently went viral for criticizing President Bola Tinubu’s government.
In a video posted on her TikTok account #talktoraye over the weekend, Raye voiced her frustration over Nigeria’s deteriorating economic situation, blaming President Tinubu for the hardship.
The corps member also described the president as a “terrible leader.”
In another video clip that went viral on social media, the corps member was heard claiming that she was being threatened by officials of the NYSC.
Following her public outbursts, Raye was summoned to appear in the office of her Local Government Inspector (LGI) for questioning on Monday.
Raye, who secured the backing of several political bigwigs, was accompanied to the office on Monday by Sowore and some legal practitioners.
In an update on his official X handle, Sowore claimed that the NYSC officials failed to show up.
He wrote, “We arrived at the Eti-Osa LGI offices of the @officialnyscng with youth corper, Ushie Rita Uguamaye, in Lagos. She was scheduled to appear before the LGI today, and we escorted her to their offices with attorneys.
@mrfestusogun, @yinka_oyesomi, and @justiceojienoh, but the LGI official had absconded, failing to show up throughout our stay.”
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