Francis Sardauna in Katsina
Katsina State government has commenced the immunisation of 2.9 million children against polio virus and other vaccine-preventable diseases across the 34 local government areas of the state.
The Executive Secretary of the State Primary Healthcare Agency, Dr. Shamsuddeen Yahaya, who disclosed this while briefing journalists, said the exercise targeted children between the age of zero to 59 months.
He explained that the agency would work with other development partners and non-governmental organisations to ensure that children in the security compromised local governments, wards, hard-to-reach communities and settlements were reached out for the vaccination.
He added that the first phase of the exercise which commenced on 13th to 18th May, would cover 17 local governments while the second phase which began from the 21st to the 26th of May, 2023, would cover the remaining 17 local government areas.
The executive secretary said although Nigeria had been certified polio-free since 2020, the country has two circulating variants of the polio virus which has the potential to spread and cause serious setbacks to its citizens.
He said: “Based on that, the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency and all other partners deemed it fit to carry out this campaign to strengthen our immunity and ensure that the virus does not creep back into our communities.
“We have divided the state into two. We are starting with 17 LGAs in the first batch and the second batch which will commence from 19th to 24th May, 2023
“There is going to be an injection for children between six weeks and 59 months of age while the other oral vaccine is going to be for children from zero to 59 months. All these vaccines are safe.”
Yahaya added that the integrated campaign alongside a series of activities and conferences aimed at mobilising the communities to come out and take the vaccines had since commenced.
He, however, noted that other routine immunisation services were going to be continued in order to ensure that the state has healthy children.
In his remarks, the State Coordinator of the World Health Organisation, Dr. Mayana Abubakar, said the organisation was supporting the state in logistics, preparations, supportive supervision and would ensure quality monitoring and evaluation campaigns.
He added that the campaign was intended to boost the population immunity and is targeting zero to 59 months with a sort of factional injectable polio vaccine and OPV.
Abubakar, expressed optimism that the vaccination would eradicate the circulating variant of poliovirus and other vaccine-preventable diseases in the state.
