By Adi Angyu
The Chairman of Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA), Pharmacist Adamu Ibrahim Gamawa saidfor polio to be completely eradicated from Nigeria, parents have to join hands with government at all levels by presenting their children for Routine Immunization.
The chairman, stated this during a one-day workshop organised for female journalists and members of Journalists Against Polio (JAP) in Bauchi in collaboration with United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO).
According to Pharmacist Gamawa, all efforts must be made by every stakeholder to ensure that the state maintain its current polio-free status, adding that for the state to be certified polio-free, “we have to wait for three months.”
While lamenting the recent discovery of three polio cases in Borno State, which he said held down Nigeria’s certification as a polio-free country, the chairman noted that the country can only make progress in
its quest to fight polio to an end in the country through immunization.
The Executive Chairman, therefore, urged parents to allow government undertake house-to-house immunization of children in the state and added that another round of the immunization in the state will be held in October and November.
He stated that before the commencement of the immunization exercise, adequate enlightenment will be carried out with a view to sensitize the people of the state on the need to allow their children to be immunized against polio virus.
In his presentation, a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Habu Dahiru, informed that the state is currently among the 11 states classified as polio-free in the country.
Dr. Dahiru further said that the Wild Polio Virus (WPV) was detected in Nigeria since July 2014, adding that Bauchi State has not recorded any cases for over 35 months.
According to the WHO representative the last case of polio recorded in Bauchi state was in September 2013.
He further stated that normal house-to-house strategy was conducted in four days, adding that, the team have to plead with the parents of the children before allowing them to immunize them.
He added that in order to ensure adequate coverage, immunization officials some time target some social events like naming ceremony, wedding, to immunize children.
