Vaccines are arguably the most significant intervention in medical science, preventing millions of deaths, especially of children, annually. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that vaccines save 2 to 6 million lives each year, with potential for an additional 1.5 million if coverage increases.i Nigeria, in alignment, developed a three-year national strategic plan to reduce zero-dose children to below 10% by 2024, but faces regional disparities. According to 2023 estimates from national reports, UNICEF and WHO, Nigeria has over 2.1 million zero-dose children. iiiiiivThe Northwestern region, particularly Kano state, shows high numbers of zero-dose children.
The development Research and Projects Center (dRPC) is committed to transforming misconceptions and misperception on vaccines, particularly in Northern Nigeria where hesitancy towards Routine Immunization remains entrenched. The dRPC’s strategy is apply social and behavioural communication approaches, tools and methodologies by strengthening the capacity of Muslim Opinion Leaders to model, champion and communicate the benefits of vaccination for the community using culturally responsive and faith focused messaging. This approach aligns with the dRPC’s Strategic Communication and Social and Behavioural Change body of work which first rolled out in 2011 with funding from Grand Challenges Canada. The dRPC’s social and behavioural change communication work targeting Muslim Opinion Leaders as influentials first rolled out when we won 2 consecutive Grand Challenges from Grand Challenges Canada, Saving Lives at Birth (SLaB) (2011-2013 and 2015-2016) to transform MOLs to be primary behavioural change communicators targeting health providers. In working with Muslim Opinion Leaders, as conservative voices, the dRPC is unique in its capacity to identify, engage and transform the most conservative and resistant scholars who oppose routine immunization. Our successes in this work are documented by NPR and other platforms: 

• National Public Radio – Via @NPR: Once Opposed to Maternal Health, Islamic Scholars Become Champions https://n.pr/2avYXVm
• https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15570274.2015.1075760
• https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17441692.2018.1473889

As at 2025 the dRPC is currently funded by the Ford Foundation to implement the Transforming Muslim Opinion Leaders project (2024-2025); a project which targets 24 of most influential and conservative MOLs in 4 states in Northern Nigeria to document and transform conservative views on gender, and to also analyse the reach, coverage and channels of communication of MOLs in social media as well as in-person communication.

Most recently, for World RI Week 2025, the dRPC presented a pathbreaking study on vaccine hesitancy and zero-dose children in Kano state. The study was conducted between July 2024 and February 2025, was undertaken in collaboration with the Kano State Primary Healthcare Management Board and the State Bureau of Statistics. The study employed social media listening tools to identify influentials; channels of communication and messages against Routine Immunization. Read for more here: – https://drpcngr.org/social-media-data-scraping-on-zero