The Katsina State Government says it will target 2,688,730 children aged zero to 59 months in its November 2026 polio vaccination campaign across 28 local government areas.
Dr Shaimau Abba, Acting Executive Secretary, State Primary Health Care Agency, said this in Katsina on Thursday at a news conference organised in collaboration with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Represented by Dr Mukhtar Mahmud, State Health Educator, Abba said the campaign aimed to protect children against poliovirus and sustain progress towards polio eradication.
She said the exercise would cover 28 local government areas, while six local government areas would not participate in the vaccination round.
According to her, the campaign will target children aged zero to 59 months, using different vaccination strategies to ensure that all eligible children were reached.
She listed the strategies as directly observed vaccination, transit-point special teams, house-to-house teams, fixed posts and temporary vaccination posts.
Abba said the operational schedule would comprise two days of directly observed vaccination, four days of house-to-house vaccination and two days of mobile vaccination activities.
She added that mop-up activities would provide additional opportunities to reach eligible children missed during the exercise.
The executive secretary said vaccination services would include novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2), bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV) and fractional inactivated polio vaccine (fIPV), in line with approved guidelines and eligibility criteria.
According to her, the campaign would also integrate other essential health interventions through the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) Week and complementary programmes to improve access to preventive healthcare for children and pregnant women.
Abba emphasised the importance of media organisations, social media influencers, members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and other stakeholders in building public confidence and encouraging caregivers to participate.
She urged journalists and other communication stakeholders to disseminate accurate, timely and consistent information about the exercise through traditional and digital platforms.
She also called on them to promote the importance of vaccinating every eligible child, including those who had received polio vaccines during previous campaigns.
Abba urged media practitioners to counter rumours and misinformation with verified information and refer technical questions to authorised health officials.
She encouraged stakeholders to use their platforms and networks to persuade parents and caregivers to welcome vaccination teams and make their children available for immunisation.
Abba also urged participants to communicate community concerns and feedback to relevant campaign authorities to ensure effective implementation of the exercise.
She expressed the agency’s commitment to working with UNICEF, the media and other development partners to ensure the success of the campaign.
“Through accurate communication, community engagement and collective action, we can ensure that no child is missed. Together, let us end polio and protect every child in Katsina State,” she said.(NAN)
