From Umar Dankano, Yola
The Adamawa State Government, in partnership with development partners, is set to conduct a special polio vaccination exercise targeting 130,000 children in Gombi and Fufore Local Government Areas.
The exercise, scheduled for November 5 to 12, 2026, is aimed at strengthening children’s immunity against circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV) and preventing further transmission of the virus in the state.
Director of Disease Control and Immunisation at the Adamawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency (ADSPHCDA), Dr James Jacob Vassumu, disclosed this during a media dialogue in Yola on Friday.
Vassumu said the exercise would target children aged zero to 59 months as part of activities under the November 2026 National Plus Days Immunisation Campaign.
He explained that the decision to prioritise Gombi and Fufore was informed by the history of circulating poliovirus in the areas, disease surveillance records and assessments of routine immunisation coverage.
According to him, the intervention is designed to strengthen immunity among children, particularly those in hard-to-reach communities where routine immunisation coverage remains inadequate and the risk of poliovirus transmission is considered significant.
“We examined some of the risk factors in these areas, including their immunisation coverage and reported outbreaks of circulating poliovirus over the years.
“We also reviewed routine immunisation data available at both national and state levels before arriving at the decision to prioritise these two local government areas,” Vassumu said.
He noted that the exercise was part of a broader strategy by the Federal Ministry of Health, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency and development partners to protect children against vaccine-preventable diseases.
Also speaking, an official of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Usman Babangida, pledged the organisation’s operational and technical support to ensure that all eligible children receive the required doses of the polio vaccine.
Babangida described the campaign as an opportunity to close immunity gaps, reach underserved communities and strengthen collective efforts to interrupt poliovirus transmission.
He urged parents, guardians, community leaders and religious leaders in Gombi and Fufore to support the exercise and ensure that all eligible children receive the vaccine, regardless of whether they had previously been vaccinated.