From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
The United Nations Children’s Funds (UNICEF) Kebbi State Government along other development partners have designed various methodologies to curb 25  suspected polio variant cases identified in nine local Government Areas of Kebbi State.
The affected local Government Areas including Argungu, Aliero Augie,Bagudo,Suru ,Fakai,Dankowasagu, Gwandu and Birnin Kebbi.
Representative of UNICEF and other international donors held a meeting with the traditional rulers, religion leaders and Officers of the Kebbi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (KSPHDA) at the Polio Operations Centre, Birnin Kebbi.
While briefing newsmen after the meeting,Alhaji Yusuf Umar Sauwa,State Health Educator of KSPHDA explained that the meeting was to brainstorm on the methodologies and strategies to be adopted to curb the dispersal of the polio variants to other places.
According to him, ” currently,we have 25 cases of polio variants virus in 9 LGAs. What we are trying to do now is that wherever you notice it or there is any outbreak, you need to quickly response to curb it. All what we are doing is to ensure that these variants do not transmitted,spread to other places.
“We are trying to see how best we can to curb the transmission. We are also looking at the best methodologies to adopt to protect our children from contracting these virus.
“We are looking how best we can  implement the social interventions in order to create adequate sensitization, communities mobilisation through the media including electronic media and other medium of communication. This will enable all the Communities to be fully informed about the variants,” he said.
Sauwa disclosed that the field officers are proposing to start sensitization to various communities by March 2nd,2024, stressed that, traditional rulers and religious leaders are working out on modalities to be used  to get the permission of husbands at various villages to vaccinate their children when they were not around.
He added that the vaccination would thereafter be extended to all the 21 LGAs immediately the affected councils were thoroughly dealt with.
“The vaccination is going to cover all the 21 LGAs. But in the case of these affected LGAs, we have different strategies we are planning to adopt. Because, most of these LGAs have their peculiar challenges. Some of them are hard to reach,other have security compromised.
“So,we have come up with different strategies for different LGAs. The Councils in the riverine areas shall be approach in different ways. Like Shanga and Yauri areas,we are going to reach these places through boats including Ngaski area.”