LGC immunises 143,796 children against polio

No fewer than 143,789 children have been immunised in Malumfashi Local Government Area of Katsina State against poliomyelitis in March, an official has said.

Malam Abdurrahman Ma’azu, the Manager, National Programme on Immunisation (NPI) in the area, disclosed this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Malumfashi on Wednesday.

Ma’azu said the figure exceeded the council’s initial target of 140,000 children.

The manager explained that 147,780 doses of Oral Polio Vaccines (OPV) were received during the exercise, adding that total OPV doses received during the previous round was 153, 080.

According to him, about 404 households with high number of children were identified as non-compliant during the period and they were resolved during the exercise.

He further explained that minimal pending cases exists and expressed appreciation to traditional, religious and local government leaders for supporting the exercise, saying their cooperation contributed to the success recorded.

He said that the exercises were conducted smoothly, and expressed optimism that upcoming exercises would record greater successes based on the rate that exceeded the previous months.

Muazu urged immunisation workers to ensure adequate record keeping, noting that proper record keeping and management will help in the implementation.

He further enjoined the immunisation workers to report parents who rejected poliomyelitis vaccine for their children as modalities had been lined up to ensure mass coverage.

The manager added that governments and supporting agencies were making enormous investment in the exercise aimed at improving the health of children.

He described the support shown by traditional rulers as catalyst to the success of the exercise.

The official also called for increased public support, stressing that safeguarding the health of children should be the collective responsibility of parents and leaders.