The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF )has called for all necessary action and effective efforts to boosting routine immunization that would eradicate polio and childhood killer diseases in Nigeria.
The officer in charge (OIC), of UNICEF Kano office Mr. Micheal Banda,made this known, during a media briefing and orientation on the polio campaign organized by UNICEF in collaboration with Kano state primary healthcare development agency.
According to the UNICEF, strengthening the system as well given routine polio immunization a top priority, is critical to child survival, hence the need for urgent collective and concerted efforts for relevant stakeholders to collaborate and ensure that children below 5 years receive all vaccines.
The organization noted that though the country,has been declared wild polio virus free country ,but the country must not gone to sleep on this ,must continue to immunised children from 00 – 5 years old
MrBanda, however disclosed that the “UNICEF would continue to support the primary healthcare system to ensure there’s at least one functional PHC in each LGA in Kano, Katsina and the country at large”
He described media as a vital partners in progress that are crucial in managing misinformation about vaccines to promote uptake for immunity against childhood killer diseases.
Earlier,, the director general of Kano State Primary Healthcare Management Agency Muhammad Nasir Mahmoud, emphasized the need for public education and enlightenment,
According to him,an effected circulating polio virus career,is capable of effected a 200 children, while the 200 circulating polio virus can also effected a whole community
He hinted that there is need for people not to joke with an outbreak of circulating polio virus victim, whenever it reared its ugly head,it has to be dealt with headlong
He however attributed the low immunization coverage in the last few years to non-functional primary healthcare centres as some of the major catalysts to the current situation.
The Kano state government has put modalities in place to ensure success as it has commenced a polio vaccine campaign in some selected areas.
” Currently in Kano, there is a global mission presence to curtail the situation and KNSG would provide all the necessary support to achieve the desired objectives “
Making his submission in a paper tagged “: Polio Outbreak How Can we Ethically Engage with Affected Communities, the social and behaviour change specialist, UNICEF Kano field office Ogu Enemaku identified feedback and complaints, evidence-based advocacy and decision-making as some of the key elements of accountability to affected persons.
While the state epidemiologist Dr Shehu Abdullahi said that the polio virus invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis within hours,
He noted that, it can be transmitted from one person to another mainly through the faecal-oral routine or less frequently contaminated water or food.
It was however disclosed on the occasion, that the polio immunization campaign will commence on Saturday 20th to 23rd April 2024, and targets children from 0 to 59 months across houses, communities, schools and relevant locations in Kano, Katsina and Jigawa states.
