In Nigeria, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is stepping up its ongoing support for civil society organisations (CSOs) through targeted funding to strengthen immunisation coverage—specifically among underserved populations and zero-dose children who have never been vaccinated with routine vaccines.
This move embodies Gavi’s strategic focus on positioning local CSOs, that have access and direct delivery to communities not served by the formal health service delivery system, to promote equity, public health, and disease prevention at the community level.
Gavi’s Investment Approach for Nigerian CSOs
Gavi’s CSO grants in Nigeria support interventions that increase vaccine demand and acceptance. These consist of community mobilization, awareness campaigns on vaccines, data collection and vigilance, and the scale-up of outreach to ones mainly affected in often fragile or remote areas.
The most recent call for proposals was launched on 3 November 2025, targeting registered Nigerian-based civil society and non-governmental organizations with a focus on immunisation or similar areas of work in public health.
Key Objectives of the Funding:
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Access zero-dose children in rural, conflict-affected and marginalized areas.
- Make immunisation more equitable by addressing misinformation, logistical barriers and cultural resistance. -
Build capacity for stronger community health systems and work together with government programs.
- Facilitate humanitarian intervention and flexibility.
The Role of Non-State Actors in Nigeria’s Immunization Space: CSO Perspective
Nigeria’s huge population, difficult terrain, security issues and socio-economic differences have resulted in wide immunisation gaps. Local CSOs offer unique advantages:
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Deep rootedness in and trust with communities that can facilitate engagement with leaders, caregivers and marginalized groups.
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Grassroots advocacy and education to debunk myths and fight misinformation about the vaccine.
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Restricted access to areas affected by conflict or remote areas with disruption of government health services.
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Sensitization of people at the last mile (mobilising demand and coordinating on-ground for action with health authorities).
Application Process and Eligibility
Other national CSOs interested in funding from Gavi should be non-governmental, not-for-profit entities that are based in Nigeria.
Experience in immunisation, health promotion or similar community health programs and the ability to implement programs, manage budgets and engage with the community are required.
The proposal must include a description of interventions, target populations, anticipated results, and plans.
Grants are awarded to organisations that have a competitive review process for scalable, sustainable strategies with high impact.
Gavi-Supported CSOs: Overview of Impact and Achievements
At the global level, Gavi-supported CSOs have contributed to gains in vaccine coverage that are nothing short of extraordinary.
One such initiative, the MenAfriVac campaign, contributed to vaccinating more than 360 million people and substantially curbing meningitis A on the continent.
In Nigeria, Gavi-funded CSOs have:
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Initiated context-specific community-level awareness campaigns.
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Improved data collection and surveillance to track coverage more accurately.
- Supported mobile outreach during outbreaks and vaccination campaigns in hard-to-reach locations. -
Developed partnerships with government organizations for joint health interventions.
These are all successes that demonstrate the importance of long-term investment in local civil society as the cornerstone of national immunisation and public health resiliency.
Challenges and Mitigation Strategies
Challenges that have proved stubborn in the Nigerian immunisation landscape include:
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Threats to security in areas of conflict that prevent access.
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Resource limitations that restrict program scale and sustainability.
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Skepticism and misinformation in the community that need constant attention.
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Logistics challenges, like maintaining a 24-pound bucket of vaccine in the cold chain for sparsely populated areas.
In response to these challenges, Gavi and its partners are:
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Investing in flexible, rapid-response programming for fragile settings.
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Developing CSO capacity in financial and project management for accountability purposes.
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Establishing cooperation between the CSOs and the government in terms of complementary resources.
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Strengthening the health system, including infrastructure and workforce development.
Future Directions and Opportunities
Long-term immunisation successes in Nigeria rely on strong relations with civil society.
Future priorities include:
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Scaling up of proven interventions through technical assistance and training for CSOs.
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The use of digital tools to collect data, track cases and respond to the community.
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Emphasizing inclusive strategies to access nomadic populations, urban slums and internally displaced persons.
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Advocacy at national and global levels to achieve continued political and financial commitment.
CSOs are also encouraged to follow official Gavi channels for funding call updates and make use of advisory tools to build a strong proposal.
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Conclusion
Why investing for impact among Nigerian civil society is a strategic evidence-based strategy to close immunisation gaps.
With the resources, insights and agility brought by local actors, Gavi-CSO partnerships bring about context-relevant actions which increase vaccine acceptance and provide a foundation for trust within communities.
This approach protects zero-dose children and other susceptible populations, strengthens health systems, provides for social equity, and propels progress towards global health targets.
For Nigerian CSOs, participating in these funding opportunities provides an opportunity to make a real difference and ensure every child can access life-saving vaccines.
Here is the official link for the funding mechanism:
https://www.gavi.org/programmes‐impact/types‐support/gavi‐funding‐civil‐society‐organisations
