From Muawuya Bala Idris, Katsina
The Katsina State Government, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has commenced the immunisation of 2.8 million children under five against polio across the 34 Local Government Areas of the state.
The Executive Secretary of the Katsina State Primary Healthcare Agency, Dr Shamsudeen Yahaya, disclosed this during a media dialogue organised by UNICEF and the agency. He was represented by Dr Mukhtar Mahmud.
Yahaya said stakeholders had been fully engaged to ensure the success of the exercise, adding that discussions were held on strategies to effectively reach all targeted communities.
He explained that the campaign would adopt a door-to-door vaccination method, supported by mobile teams to penetrate hard-to-reach settlements.
“The campaign, which will cover all 34 LGAs in Katsina State, targets over 2.8 million children under the age of five and will provide critical services including polio vaccination, routine immunisation, and mass administration of azithromycin,” he said.
He added that the programme would integrate other maternal and child health services such as vitamin A supplementation, deworming tablets for children, and nutritional support for pregnant women.
“We have put in place all necessary measures to ensure the success of this campaign, including stakeholder engagement, training of health workers, and social mobilisation activities,” he said.
Yahaya urged parents to cooperate with health workers and ensure no eligible child is left unvaccinated. He also appealed to media organisations to support community mobilisation and awareness.
In his remarks, the Head of UNICEF’s Kano Field Office, Mr Mohammed Farah, said UNICEF had deployed adequate personnel and provided sufficient vaccine doses to ensure smooth implementation across the state’s 361 wards.
Farah acknowledged progress in reducing polio cases but urged government authorities to sustain and intensify efforts to achieve total eradication.
