Kwara State Government has commenced another round of polio immunisation campaign for children under the age of five in the state.
The exercise, which is the second in the series in the year, is expected to cover all the nooks and crannies of the state, beginning from Saturday 20th to 23rd of April, 2024.
Speaking during the flag-off of the campaign, the Executive Secretary of the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Nusirat Elelu, called on all parents, religious houses, and schools to get the target children vaccinated within the stipulated time, adding that the vaccine is safe and efficacious.
Elelu said, “I enjoin all parents, caregivers, religious houses, schools, and Quranic institutions to make eligible children available for vaccination as the teams move from house to house, markets, religious houses, and schools.
“All children 0-5 years are expected to be vaccinated irrespective of their previous vaccination status. Let me reiterate that the vaccine is safe, efficacious, and does not have an overdose.”
She said poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under five years of age, adding that the virus can be transmitted through the fecal-oral route or, less frequently, by contaminated water or food.
Elelu noted that though Nigeria has been certified polio-free, there is a need to sustain the gains by ensuring that the most at-risk group is protected by boosting population immunity of eligible children through supplementary and routine immunisation activities, such as this exercise.
According to her, at least 2,034 vaccination teams will be going from house to house to carry out the exercise, with an expectation to vaccinate as many as children against polio.
