Warawa Local Government Area of Kano State has successfully vaccinated 59,391 children during the just-concluded polio immunisation campaign, surpassing its original target of 57,754 children.
The Health Educator of Warawa LGA, Bello Jafaru, revealed this in an interview, explaining that the success was due to strong community engagement and awareness before the campaign.
“We went beyond our target because we carried out massive sensitisation. We held advocacy meetings, taskforce meetings, and town hall meetings with stakeholders. We told them about the problems we had in the past and what we expected this time. They helped us a lot,” he said.
He recalled that in a previous campaign, they faced vaccine resistance in a ward called Jigawa, where some parents refused to allow their children to be vaccinated.
“We had to organise a community dialogue in that settlement. We listened to them, understood their concerns, and resolved the issue with the help of traditional leaders,” he explained.
Bello Jafaru also mentioned that during the just-concluded campaign, a woman initially refused to allow her children to be vaccinated.
However, a special non-compliance committee made up of respected individuals, health workers, and influential persons from each ward intervened.
“The committee spoke to her, and later, with support from the traditional ruler (Hakimi), we were able to vaccinate her children. The Hakimi gave an instruction, and we went there with the committee and successfully immunised the children,” he said.
He urged parents across the LGA and beyond to ensure their children are vaccinated, noting that the polio vaccine is safe and free.
“It is not just protecting children from polio alone, but also other diseases. Parents should take their children to health facilities for immunisation,” he added.
This achievement in Warawa comes as the Kano State Government, in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), pushes forward with a wider polio vaccination campaign aimed at reaching 3.9 million children under the age of five.
The state hopes to eliminate polio completely by December 2025.