By Sani Adamu Hassan
As the world celebrate World Polio day in every 24 of October, stakeholders in the health sector have called for contributions from various every quarter to help eliminate polio virus among children in the state.
They made the disclosure in Bauchi to commemorate this year’s World Polio Day organized by the Bauchi State Primary Health Care Board in collaboration with World Health Organization (WHO).
Addressing the gathering, an official from the World Health Organisation, Dr Mustafa Umar Mai Iyali, emphasised the need for continued collaboration to maintain Nigeria’s polio-free status, highlighted the importance of reaching all children with polio immunisation to ensure they grow up healthier, fostering a bright future for the younger generation.
Dr Mustapha Mai Iyali, also pledged to increase awareness efforts across the state and country, emphasising that no child should suffer from polio or miss out on vaccination.
He added that “Nigeria has played a pivotal role in the efforts to eliminate polio, we have seen a significant decline in polio cases from 1,126 in 2006 to 27 in 2019”.
“The certification of Nigeria in June 18 2020 as polio free by the African Regional Certification Commission shown an improved vaccination coverage were WHO-supported SIAs reached of millions of children through enhanced surveillance systems detected and responded to polio outbreaks”.
Dr Mai Iyali further revealed that in spite of the monumental achievement, currently there still exist circling variants of polio virus in our communities and this has frontend that more strategic interventions for polio vaccination need to be intensified in order to achieve herd immunity across board.
The Incident Manager of the Polio Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Bauchi, Dr Sufyan Ahmed said World Polio Day is mandated to educate people on the importance of vaccinating children against child-killer diseases, noting that significant progress has been made in Nigeria, with cases now at zero level.
He commended the support of traditional, religious, and community leaders, as well as the media, for their unwavering commitment to combating the wild polio virus, which According to him, “Without their support, we would not be where we are today.”
The Chief of UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Dr Nuzhat Rafique who underscored the need for comprehensive immunisation, emphasised that every child in Bauchi and across Nigeria should be vaccinated to enjoy a healthy life.
As part of the celebration, the team paid a courtesy visit to the Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Rilwanu Sulaiman Adamu, where they were received by the Secretary of the Council, Shehu Mudi Muhammad.
The Emir pledged the commitment of traditional institutions to support all policies and programmes aimed at improving the lives of Bauchi State citizens.
Discover more from Albarka Radio
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
