The Sokoto State government has lauded the strong involvement of stakeholders in the success of the April Polio Outbreak Response (OBR) vaccination round across the state.

Faruk Umar, the state commissioner for health, said this during a media dialogue organised by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Sokoto.

The dialogue, themed “Dosage of Good News,” was held in preparation for the second round of the Polio OBR campaign across the state’s 23 local government areas.

“Our target was to vaccinate one million children aged zero to five years, but we surpassed that by reaching 1.4 million children with the required dosage during the campaign,” Mr Umar stated.

He credited the achievement to active participation from stakeholders including the state governor’s wife, Fatima Aliyu, traditional leaders, and local government chairmen and their spouses.

“Collective action is vital if we are to end the transmission of the deadly poliovirus by 2025,” he said.

Mr Umar expressed confidence in the state’s capacity to eradicate the virus, highlighting the global success of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV).

He said that the vaccine had prevented 24 million cases of childhood paralysis worldwide between 1988 and 2021 and reduced poliovirus-related paralysis by 99.9 per cent.

However, he warned that the virus remained a global threat, as even a single case could trigger outbreaks.

To ensure eradication, he stressed the importance of achieving at least 95 per cent coverage of all children under five in every vaccination round.

“In many parts of Nigeria, including Sokoto, some children are still missing during campaigns, allowing the virus to persist.

“Sustained high immunisation coverage is essential to keeping the virus at bay,” Mr Umar noted.

The commissioner reaffirmed the state’s zero tolerance for fraudulent practices such as marking children’s fingers without administering the vaccine.

He also thanked Gov. Ahmed Aliyu for his steadfast support to the health sector, as well as other state and non-state actors involved in the campaign.

Earlier, Ibrahim Isa, officer-in-charge of UNICEF’s Sokoto field office, lauded the state government’s commitment to eradicating poliovirus.

He also hailed the media for ongoing public education about the virus and the vaccination campaign.

(NAN)