Abstract

Background: In Nigeria, despite the National Program on Immunization, the effective delivery of vaccine remains a problem in many parts of the country, particularly in remote, improvised or strife-torn areas and particularly among the Nomadic Fulani population.
Nomadic communities are on continual pastoral movement across borders, live in very traditional settings and they adhere strongly to traditional cultural values and beliefs, which can lead to poor health outcomes. In Nigeria, there is a lack of understanding of these customs, values and beliefs, due to limited information and research among Nomadic populations. Hence, this is a novel contribution
to existing public health research in terms of methods and findings.
Aim: The thesis sets out to grasp the complexity of vaccination, in particular, focusing on the Nomadic Fulani's Perception and careseeking behaviour around vaccine-preventable diseases in children.
Methodology: Through Situational Analysis (SA), an approach to Grounded theory as described by Clarke (Clarke, 2005) which is philosophical oriented in social constructionism and Qualitative semi-structured interview were conducted of Fulani women of childbearing age as well as Focus Group among Fulani men gave a clear picture on how their cultural practice has shaped their understanding of social and environmental factors and subsequently their adoption of preventive behaviour towards vaccination of children against common diseases.
Result: The preliminary result indicated poor knowledge of the vaccination practice; the impact of cultural belief and practice on the decision-making process in nomadic communities to the role of traditional treatment and their link to the formal health system.