Polio vaccination: Jigawa targets 1.2m Children, as UNICEF seeks stakeholders support

From Mika’il Tsoho, Dutse

No fewer than 1.2 million under five years old children are expected to receive plio vaccines within four days in Jigawa state.
This was announced by the Permanent Secretary Jigawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (PHCDA), Dr. Kabiru Ibrahim while explaining the level of their preparedness for the exercise.
Ibrahim explained that Jigawa state government through PHCDA concluded all arrangement to vaccinate 2.1million children of 0- 5 years against Polio across the 27 local government areas of the state.
“We recruited over 9,180 ad-hoc staff who were groups in to 3060 teams and spreads to 287 political wards of the state to conduct the exercise.
“The exercise would be flag-off on Saturday and it’s would last for five days. Four days is for the real exercise and one day is designed for mopped up to ensure no single children is left behind”.
“As I’m talking to you now, we have enough dosage vaccines and despatched it to all the 27 local government areas with all necessary needed materials for the kickup of the exercise tomorrow all over at the same time”, he stated.
The permanent secretary added that “as you are fully aware that JIgawa and Nigeria is polio free for years. But the these immunization exercise followed a discovery of an environmental polio sample in some states neighboring us (JIgawa) whom are also conducting this same exercise. That is why we (in JIgawa) also conducting the same to provide additional protection against the polio disease on our children.
“To this regard, we constituted 3060 teams and each there is three people in each of the team which they would be going to house to house in addition some designed centers and all public health facilities in the state to immunize the targeted 1.2 million 0-5 years children in the state.”
He therefore warned people to avoid coming up with any condition be accepting any immunization be it polio and routine immunization.
He also called on parents and care providers to bring their children and receives the vaccines to improve their children protection against the disease.
Similarly, while delivering his speech at one day media orientation on the polio vaccination exercise organised by UNICEF in collaboration with National Orientation Agency (NOA) and Kano state government, the Officer in Charge (OIC) UNICEF Kano Office, Michael Banda call for improved mutual collaboration between media, traditional and religious leaders and ensure polio free certification in Nigeria.
According to him, there is over 556,750 children who have not received one single dose of vaccination they should have received these are referred to as zero dose children.
He said: “such children inexorably are vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases, including poliomyelitis. This is unacceptable and must be tackled frontally
“Not only is polio vaccination crucial, but all routine vaccinations are also critical to children’s survival. We must all work together to strengthen routine immunization services and ensure that all children under five receive all vaccines, including the polio vaccine.
“If all children all get vaccinated and receive ALL the vaccines they need to receive, they would no longer be at risk of contracting polio, with attendant debilitating consequences, but they would rather have received the immunity which will protect them against vaccine-preventable diseases.
“ Immunization has been proven to be the most cost-effective protection against vaccine-preventable diseases.”