Polio Eradication: Katsina, UNICEF reaffirm commitment to end preventable child diseases
The Katsina State government, in collaboration with UNICEF, has renewed its commitment to the fight against preventable child diseases by ensuring that no child is left behind, and no life is lost to preventable diseases like polio.
The state first lady, Zulaihat Dikko-Radda, disclosed this at the commemoration of the 2025 World Polio Day, on Friday, in Katsina.
She, therefore, charged mothers and caregivers to intensify efforts to take their children to health centres for vaccination to build their future.
“Let’s renew our promise that no child will be left behind, no life will be lost to preventable diseases, and that the dream of Polio Free World will be a reality,” she advocated.
Mrs Dikko-Radda said that the barrier was not the absence of vaccines or of healthcare workers to deliver them.
“Vaccine resistance resulting from misinformation and fear continued to endanger the health of our children.
“A new challenge stands before us is the circulating Variant Polio Virus type 2 (cVPV2). It is silent, but dangerous,” she said.
The governor’s wife noted that the vaccine had been carefully formulated, safe and remained a powerful weapon against diseases like polio.
In her remarks, the UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Kano, Rahama Mohammed-Farah, said that polio eradication was within reach, but success depends on collaborative efforts to sustain the resolve.
Represented by the UNICEF Child Protection Specialist, Fatima Adamu, Ms Mohammed-Farah said, in Katsina, the number of cases dropped significantly from 17 in eight LGAs in 2024 to two in Danmusa LGA in 2025.
“The fight is not yet over, polio has no cure, but it is preventable. With safe vaccines, no child should suffer from a disease that is preventable.
“Our immunisation campaign must reach every child. Vaccines remained the strongest weapon against paralysis and death.
“Children deserve a polio-free future. We can make it the second human disease ever eradicated and protect children of generations to come.
“We’ve come too far to turn back. Let’s finish the job – and make polio a history,” she stressed.
She urged the wives of local government chairmen to intensify efforts in sensitising mothers and caregivers on the need to vaccinate their eligible children.
(NAN)
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