Two new cases of polio have been confirmed in Hadejia and Suletankarkar Local Government Areas of Jigawa State, marking a setback after nearly a decade of being declared polio-free.
The disclosure was made by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) during a media dialogue on polio and routine immunisation held in Dutse, the state capital.
Speaking on behalf of UNICEF Kano Chief Field Officer Mr. Rahama Rihood Farah, Health Manager, Dr. Serekeberehan Seyoum Deres warned that polio remains a highly contagious disease with severe consequences, including paralysis and death among young children.
Deres highlighted that although over 3 billion people have been vaccinated against polio globally since 1988, the fight against the disease is far from over due to low vaccination rates in some regions.
“In 2025 alone, 18 cases of polio have been reported across 18 local government areas in nine states in Nigeria,” he noted, calling for renewed efforts in vaccination and surveillance to prevent further outbreaks.
“Two (2) of these polio cases are in Hadejia and Sule Tankarkar LGAs of Jigawa state. This is unacceptable and must be halted Polio knows no boundaries and spreads fast an outbreak in any country puts children in every country at risk”.
The chief field officer maintained: “In the last 50 years alone, vaccines have saved 154 million lives that is six people every minute, for five decades. Together, we have made incredible progress. Simply by being immunized, you help to protect others from the spread of disease, just as they help to protect you.We can stop outbreaks and eradicate polio”.
“Ending polio and improving children’s survival starts with making sure all children have access to vaccines. UNICEF calls on the Jigawa state government, and indeed all states in Nigeria, to take urgent action to stop polio outbreaks and to reach all children with polio and other life-saving vaccines”.
He said UNICEF requests Jigawa State government to declares a State of Emergency on Polio and Routine Immunization including a commitment to release state counterpart funding for polio and routine Immunization, 27 local government councils’ chairmen in the state to make similar commitments, and conduct flag-offs of the upcoming polio vaccination campaign and commit to releasing counterpart funding.
Serekeberehan Seyoum noted that UNICEF in collaboration with the Jigawa state government through the Primary Healthcare Development Agency has convened this media dialogue to solicit the support of the media in raising awareness and mobilising parents, caregivers, communities, stakeholders, the public and everyone, about the Polio Vaccination Campaign which Nigeria has scheduled to implement from 24-30 April 2025.
UNICEF emphasis that Media must regularly disseminate through their platforms accurate information to help fight myths, disinformation and rumors which misinform and discourage people from taking opportunities to vaccinate children.
“If children get vaccinated routinely, we will have no need for vaccination campaigns to deal with vaccine-preventable diseases. To eradicate polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases, Nigeria must strengthen its Routine Immunization efforts. This requires full implementation of the One functional Primary Healthcare Centre per ward Policy. If we strengthen our Routine Immunization, we can realize a future free from diseases like polio, cervical cancer and measles.”
Farah stated further that as the global community is focusing attention on human papillomavirus during the World Immunization Week, and UNICEF urges the government and decision makers in Nigeria to also focus attention on and invest in vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV) which causes cervical cancer.
“We can realise a future free from vaccine-preventable diseases like polio, cervical cancer and measles. A future where no child dies from illnesses that we know how to prevent – because Vaccines are available, safe and effective!”.
Speaking over the development the executive secretary Jigawa state Primary Healthcare Development Agency PHCDA, Dr Sambo through director primary healthcare services, Dr Hassan Shu’aibu Kwalam said the state has came up and adopted new strategies to re-eliminates the disease in the state.
According to him the state government through the agency a massive immunization exercise to be lunched all over the state by tomorrow Wednesday targeted to immunizes all eligibles children in the state.
The director explained that a high level meeting with traditional and religious leaders under the chairmanship of the chairman of Polio enlightenment campaign committee and Emir of Dutse, Alhaji Muhammad Hamim Nuhu to redesigned where the Emir of Hadejia and Gumel, Alhaji Adamu Abubakar Make and Alhaji Ahmed Muhammed Sani and review the hole (polio) immunization exercise in Hadejia.
Dr Hassan Shu’aibu Kwalam explained that there is a massive immunization exercise plan to kick off 24th of this month to last for six days where through the period over 3060 teams of three people per each team to be despatches across 287 political wards in 27 local government areas to vaccinate all eligible children.
He said: “The agency received over two million dosage of vaccine to be admitted to the targeted 1.9 million children”.
“In an effort to achieve 100 percent coverage about 50,000 adhoc staff had been recruited which includes people to administer the vaccine, recorders, supervisors at three different levels such as at teams, wards, local government area zones and state levels.
Also speaking the programme manager, State Emergency Routine Immunisation Coordination Centre (SERICC ), Dr Shehu Ibrahim said, “A total of 1.9m os targeted to immunizes against the polio disease in the forthcoming polio immunisation exercise to be conducted a cross 27 local government areas of the state”.
Dr Shehu Ibrahim described non-compliance which in most cases emanating from political attribution in vaccine exercise leading to missing some children from recieving the vaccine a situation that exposing them and endangering other to the virus.
He expressed concern on political attraction to polio and routing immunization where in some cases rejecting the vaccine for a political reason remains a serious challenge in achieving the targeted children in the state, “what is the relationship with water supply and routing immunization?”.
According to him, “In February 2025 immunisation exercise a total of seven children were missed in Garki, Kaugama and Maigatari Local Government area “
He said, state government has introduced various measures to ensure no single child is left behind during the upcoming immunisation campaign.
He added that immunisation teams would be deployed to markets and boarders to ensure full coverage and to ensure no zero child is recorded.
