From Abdulrazaq Mungadi, Gombe
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called on traditional leaders in Gombe State to take a more active role in addressing persistent noncompliance with polio vaccination campaigns in the state.
According to UNICEF, the issue of Polio virus has remained a serious concern in Gombe and other parts of Nigeria, this is in spite of the major success recorded in the Polio eradication from the country.
Speaking during the flag-off of the 2025 round of the National Immunization Plus Days (NIPDs) campaign in Kuri community in Yamaltu Deba Local Government Area (LGA) of Gombe state, Dr. Nuzhat Rafique, Chief of UNICEF’s Bauchi Field Office disclosed that the number unreached and unvaccinated children in the state remain high.
She explained that more alarming is fact that four out of the 11 LGA of Gombe state are among the 100 LGAs that official are still battling to completely eradicate the virus by vaccinating the children. According to her, children reside in Dukku, Kwami, Funakaye, and Yamaltu-Deba LGAs are at high-risk.
Dr. Nuzhat who was representated by the UNICEF’s health officer in Bauchi field office, Oluseyi Olosunde added that the major challenge being faced by the campaign is parents vaccine non-compliance. She said, “We want to traditional rulers to help address the issue of rejection, we want to end this campaign with no rejection. Nigeria only have this year to completely end this Polio”.
However, Dr. Nuzhat stated that while Nigeria was declared free of wild poliovirus in 2020, the outbreaks of vaccine-derived poliovirus has continue to pose a threat. She said, “we do not have wild Poliovirus again in Nigeria, what we are having now is called the circulating derived virus.
Dr. Nuzhat further explained that traditional leaders are widely respected and influential in their communities, therefore they mobilize and support the campaign by address misinformation about the vaccine and the noncompliance. “Their involvement has previously led to increased acceptance of immunization efforts in other regions,” she said.
Meanwhile, speaking on the 2025 (NIPDs) campaign, the Chairman of the Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA) Board, Dr. Ya’u Kashere, commended the state government improving healthcare delivery across the state and called on community members to actively participate in the immunization campaign, emphasizing its importance in preventing disease outbreaks.
On his part, the state governor, Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya who was representated by his deputy Dr. Manassah Daniel Jatau, states the government’s commitment to improving the well-being of its citizens through continuous support for routine immunization and regular medical check-ups. He encouraged residents to take advantage of the free services being offered during the campaign.
He added that the NIPD is aimed at strengthening herd immunity among children under five and preventing the resurgence of polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases.