The Quiet Hero Behind Vaccinated Smiles
How a once-shy volunteer is mobilizing her community in Katsina, and helping families embrace immunization with heart.
If you had met Zainab Sanni Mamman 11 months ago, you might not have guessed how passionate she would become about ensuring every child in her community is vaccinated.
Quiet and introverted, Zainab has found her voice and purpose as a Volunteer Community Mobilizer (VCM) in Sabon Gari, Daura Local Government Area, Katsina State. Despite her reserved nature, she has a special ability to connect with families encouraging pregnant women and caregivers alike to prioritize their children’s health.
I encourage pregnant mothers to go for antenatal care and ensure their children receive all their vaccinations.
If you don’t go to the hospital, you won’t know the condition of your child.
Zainab’s approach to household visits is thoughtful and strategic. Her first step is always to engage the husbands, urging them to support their wives in attending medical check-up and vaccinating their children. Known for her kindness, Zainab often brings biscuits and sweets during her door-to-door campaigns, creating warmth and trust with the children and their parents.
Many now call her “Aunty Zainab”, a nickname earned through her generosity and consistent efforts as a VCM. This personal touch has opened doors—helping her convince many defaulters and hesitant parents to vaccinate their children in her focal area, Dan Malik Labule.
Among her success stories is Ummakulsam, a mother who had previously defaulted on immunizations for her second child. Through patient persuasion and encouragement, Zainab helped ensure Ummakulsam’s third child received her full vaccination from birth.
Since joining the VCMs, Zainab has played an active role in reducing the number of zero-dose and defaulted children in her area.
I believe immunisation helps children stay healthy and live well, she says with conviction.
Zainab dreams of a future where every child in her community is fully vaccinated, healthy, and happy—a future she’s working toward every day, one visit at a time.
Through community-based engagement led by the Katsina State Government with support from UNICEF, Gavi, and partners, we are working to restore routine immunization coverage for children under five and close the gaps created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
