By Asma’u Ahmad
The Taraba State Government has rounded off the polio outbreak response campaign with five successful rounds of immunisation for under-five children.
Governor Darius Ishaku, who inaugurated the final round at Lankaviri near Jalingo, expressed satisfaction that the last four rounds of the exercise recorded 100 per cent success in the 168 council wards of the state.
The governor said the campaign was imperative given the nearness of Borno which recorded new cases of wild polio virus recently.
He called on all to encourage women and children to take advantage of the services offered during the immunisation as well as the maternal and child health week to achieve the intended purpose of the programmes.
In his address, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Innocent Vakkai, thanked the governor for his continuous support which had been the bedrock of the success the ministry recorded so far.
Dr. Vakkai said the ministry had immunised 953,564 children in the fourth round with the support of World Health Organisation, UNICEF and other partners.
He said that the fifth round would involve deworming of children under five, provision of Vitamin A, anti-malaria drugs, iron tablets for pregnant women and free HIV counselling and testing, among others.
The commissioner called on the people to take advantage of the opportunity and come out en-masse to participate in the week-long programme.
He appealed to stakeholders to continue to create awareness about immunisation services and other maternal and child health programmes to reduce the risks facing children in the state.
