A change of heart - when one child’s death changed a community

When a neighbour’s child in Azare, Bauchi State, died of diphtheria from diphtheria, the news tore through the community like a cold wind. For Samaila Shehu, a father of three, it was more than a tragedy, it was a reckoning. The child’s death was preventable, and that realization struck deep.

“I was told the child died because he was not vaccinated,” Samaila says, still shaken by the memory. For years, he had refused to allow vaccines for his own children, convinced vaccines were part of a plot to harm his community. “I did not trust vaccines. I thought they were designed to reduce our population,” he admits quietly. But grief has a way of cutting through noise and doubt. That one death made him question everything he once believed.

Vaccine misinformation runs deep in many Nigerian communities, passed on in whispers and unverified stories. For too long, rumours have stood in the way of facts and cost children their lives. To turn this tide, the Bauchi State Government, with support from UNICEF and Government of Canada, introduced the “Fathers for Good Health” (FFGH) initiative in 2024. The idea was simple yet powerful – train fathers to speak to other fathers, using trust and shared experience to counter fear with truth.

These volunteers became the bridge between myths and facts, visiting homes, answering questions, and reassuring hesitant parents. When the FFGH team visited Samaila, he finally listened. “After talking to them, I realized my beliefs were wrong,” he says. “I became really worried for my children after learning more about the dangers of not being vaccinated.”

His change of heart was just in time, too. In October 2025, the Government of Nigeria, supported by partners including Gavi, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization, launched a nationwide Measles-Rubella vaccination campaign. Guided by his FFGH friends, Samaila took his youngest child to be immunized. “I felt so much relief,” he recalls. “But I still worry about my older child who was never vaccinated and is now unwell.”

Across Bauchi, hundreds of volunteers from FFGH and Mama2Mama networks have helped families like Samaila’s make this journey from fear to trust. “They understand the doubts and know how to address them,” says Panchanan Achari, UNICEF’s Social Behaviour Change Manager. “Community-led efforts like these are essential to improving vaccine acceptance and protecting every child from preventable diseases.”

Today, Samaila has become a voice for vaccines, urging other fathers to act before it is too late. His transformation, from a man bound by fear to one driven by hope, mirrors the larger change taking place across Bauchi state. One conversation, one child saved at a time, and behind that change lies the quiet power of trust in vaccines.