The Sokoto State Government has urged Local Government Area (LGA) Chairmen and their spouses to take the lead in flagging off the upcoming polio immunization campaign in their respective domains.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Faruk Umar Wurno, made the call during a health media dialogue held at the UNICEF Field Office in Sokoto.
Dr. Wurno expressed gratitude to the Executive Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, for his continued support to the health sector.
He also praised the success of the April polio vaccination campaign, which recorded strong participation from traditional leaders, LGA Chairmen, and media professionals.
Despite this progress, the Commissioner revealed that five cases of variant poliovirus were recently detected in Sokoto State, underscoring the need for sustained efforts to eradicate the disease completely.
He emphasized the importance of the Oral Polio Vaccine in reducing polio cases globally but noted that achieving optimal immunization coverage remains essential to eliminating the virus.
Dr. Wurno urged LGA Chairmen to promptly release counterpart funding for the June round of the polio vaccination campaign and called on fathers to support the initiative by allowing their children to be vaccinated.
He commended LGA Chairmen who played active roles during the April campaign and stressed the importance of community involvement in ensuring the success of immunization programs.
The Commissioner identified low immunization coverage and poor sanitation as key challenges contributing to the persistence of polio in the state.
He also disclosed that Sokoto currently has the highest percentage of zero-dose children in Nigeria, according to the 2023 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS).
Also speaking, Ibrahim Isa, Officer-in-Charge of the UNICEF Sokoto Field Office, lauded journalists for their critical role in promoting the recent polio immunization campaign in the state.
He called on the media to continue supporting UNICEF and other stakeholders in raising awareness about the importance of polio vaccination, noting that media advocacy is vital in shaping public perception and promoting health-seeking behavior.
Isa praised journalists for their contributions to the campaign’s success and reaffirmed UNICEF’s commitment to working closely with the media to improve public health outcomes.
Other UNICEF officials present at the media dialogue included Dr. Claude Kacil Monj, SBC Polio Team Lead, WCAR, Dakar, Senegal; Priyanka Khanna, Communications Specialist (Polio), UNICEF Nigeria, Abuja; and Ojei Ifeanyi, Health Specialist, UNICEF Sokoto.
