Jigawa vaccinates 2.6 million children against polio

Jigawa State has vaccinated over 2.6 million children under the age of five against polio in its latest immunisation campaign, surpassing its target with 116 per cent 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 organised by the agency with technical support from the UNICEF Kano Field Office.

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 mobilisation during the campaign.

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 Immunisation 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 sensitisation before and during campaigns,” Ma’azu said.

In his remarks, the Health Education Officer of the agency, Sani Yusuf, emphasised the importance of media support in promoting immunisation.

“The media shapes public opinion. We need you to tell parents that vaccines are safe and free,” Yusuf said.

He urged journalists to use their platforms to promote positive health-seeking behaviour, especially in rural and hard-to-reach communities.

A representative of the World Health Organisation, Adamu Isa, also attended the meeting.

Participants agreed that sustained media engagement remains critical to addressing the remaining cases of non-compliance and ensuring that no child is missed in future immunisation campaigns.