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From Sola Ojo, Abuja
The Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board has announced plans to vaccinate no fewer than 2.5 million children in a renewed polio immunisation campaign scheduled to begin on Sunday, March 29.
Speaking ahead of the exercise, Health Education Officer Isiah Yushau told the media that the campaign would run for four days, followed by two additional days for mop-up activities to ensure no eligible child is missed.
Yushau disclosed that the vaccination drive would target children aged 0 to 59 months across more than 28,000 settlements in Kaduna State, noting that adequate vaccines, personnel, and logistics have been deployed to reach even the most remote communities.
He explained that the campaign was part of a broader national effort involving 14 states, including Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Niger, Yobe, Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa State, Kwara, and Nasarawa, where enumeration exercises are ongoing to generate accurate data for planning and intervention.
According to him, the enumeration process captured households, women of reproductive age, pregnant women, and children under five to strengthen data-driven decision-making in healthcare delivery.
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Despite progress recorded in previous rounds, Yushau identified vaccine refusal and insecurity as major challenges affecting coverage.
He noted that initial records showed over 7,000 cases of refusal, which were later reduced to about 1,000 following intensified community engagement and awareness campaigns.
“More than 70 to 80 percent of refusals have been resolved, but our goal is to ensure that no child is left unvaccinated,” he said.
He added that new strategies and innovations have been introduced, including enhanced community sensitisation and media engagement, to improve acceptance and reach children in hard-to-access areas.
Yushau urged parents and caregivers to present their children for vaccination, stressing that the benefits of immunisation far outweigh the risks of non-compliance, particularly in the fight against poliomyelitis.
The campaign would run from March 29 to April 3, with health officials expressing optimism that improved strategies would further reduce missed children and boost immunity levels across the state.
