Cash for vaccines: Reward program boosts child immunization in Nigeria

Gombe, Nigeria: It’s 8 am on Monday, August 26, 2024, at the Pantami Primary Healthcare Centre in Pantami, a suburb in northeast Nigeria’s Gombe State. The children’s vaccination hall is filled with a vibrant array of hijab colors: green, brown, white, and more, representing a mix of young and older mothers who brought their babies and toddlers for vaccination.

Among them is 37-year-old Ashaitu Adamu, a mother of three. Inside the hall, a healthcare worker dressed in gray scrubs calls a number...