By Abdulsalami Abdulfatai, Sokoto
Sokoto State has launched a major polio vaccination campaign targeting over one million children between the age of five years and below.
The four-day exercise, which began on April 26 and will run through April 30, is aimed at immunizing children against the circulating variant poliovirus type 2, as part of national efforts to end polio transmission by December 2025.
The campaign adopts a house-to-house vaccination strategy to ensure no child is left behind. In Sokoto North Local Government Area, parents and caregivers turned out in large numbers, willingly presenting their children to vaccinators. However, a few households in the Bazza area rejected the vaccine.
UNICEF facilitator, Latifa, who was on ground, disclosed that non-compliant households would be reported to the Non-Compliance Committee for appropriate action. She emphasized the importance of community cooperation in the fight against polio.
Executive Secretary of the Sokoto State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Larai Aliyu Tambuwal, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring full compliance, stating that all necessary measures would be taken to reach every eligible child.
In Sokoto South Local Government Area, the campaign was officially flagged off by the Council Chairman Mohammad Ya’u Danda, who was represented at the event. He urged mothers and caregivers to make their children available for immunization, stressing the safety and effectiveness of the polio vaccine.
Also in Wamakko local government, another local government within the metropolis, parents were seeing bringing their children out to receive the polio vaccine from officials.
UNICEF facilitator, Habibu Kilgori, also noted that measures have been put in place to address issues of non-compliance and fake finger-marking. According to him, independent supervisors and civil society representatives have been engaged to monitor the exercise and ensure transparency.
The vaccination exercise is being closely monitored by key partners, including UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO).
The outbreak response immunization campaign underscores the collective resolve of the Sokoto State government and its partners to prevent the spread of the poliovirus and safeguard the health of every child.
