No fewer than 2.6 million children under five years old were vaccinated against polio during a recent immunization campaign in Jigawa State, surpassing the target with 116 percent coverage. The State Health Information Officer of the Jigawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Shehu Ibrahim, disclosed this during a one-day media and stakeholders’ engagement on the polio campaign held on Monday in Dutse, the state capital. The engagement was organized by the agency with technical support from the UNICEF Kano Field Office.
Campaign Results and Non-Compliance
Giving feedback on the March round of the campaign, Ibrahim said 2.6 million children were reached across all 27 local government areas of the state. “Number of children vaccinated in the last round conducted in March across 27 Jigawa LGAs is 2.6 million, representing 116% coverage,” Ibrahim said. He revealed that 5,551 cases of non-compliance were recorded during the exercise, noting that over 4,000 of the cases were resolved through community engagement, leaving 472 unresolved. Ibrahim, however, identified six local government areas—Auyo, Babura, Birnin Kudu, Malam-Madori, Ringim, and Gwiwa—as having weak social mobilization during the campaign.
Commitment to Polio Eradication
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the agency, represented by the Director of Public Health, Muhammad Abdullah, commended health workers and partners for the success of the exercise. “We cannot afford to relent. Every child must be reached if we are to keep Jigawa and Nigeria polio-free,” Abdullah said. He urged the media to play a stronger role in countering misinformation that contributes to vaccine hesitancy in some communities.
Also speaking, the Deputy State Immunization Officer, Ashiru Ma’azu, said the engagement was aimed at strengthening collaboration with journalists. “The expected outcome is improved coverage through accurate reporting and community sensitization before and during campaigns,” Ma’azu said. In his remarks, the Health Education Officer of the agency, Sani Yusuf, emphasized the importance of media support in promoting immunization. “The media shapes public opinion. We need you to tell parents that vaccines are safe and free,” Yusuf said.
