From Muawuya Bala Idris, Katsina
The Katsina State Government has concluded plans to immunise no fewer than three million children against polio, deploying over 10,000 trained personnel for the exercise.
The immunisation campaign, which will be conducted in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund, is scheduled to hold from March 28 to 31, 2026, across 361 wards and 19,760 settlements in the state.
The Executive Chairman of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Shamsudeen Yahaya, disclosed this during a one-day mass mobilisation dialogue with media practitioners in Katsina.
He said the exercise targets children from birth to nine months, stressing the need for collective support to ensure its success.
“We have deployed over 10,000 trained personnel to cover all wards and settlements across the state,” Yahaya said. “We call on parents and caregivers to ensure that all eligible children are vaccinated against polio.”
He added that the campaign is part of efforts to sustain gains in the fight against the disease and prevent resurgence.
Also speaking, a representative of United Nations Children’s Fund, Umar Ahmed, said about 3,671 teams would be engaged for the house-to-house vaccination exercise.
“Each team comprises a leader, a vaccinator, and a community mobiliser who will administer oral polio vaccines to children,” Ahmed said. “We will also deploy fixed posts and special teams to border communities to ensure full coverage.”
He urged media organisations to intensify awareness campaigns to boost public acceptance and participation in the exercise.
