Borno to vaccinate 2 million children against polio

The World Health Organisation and the Borno State government have commenced a 10-day polio vaccination campaign across the 27 local government areas of the state.

The vaccination campaign is targeting over two million children across the states, including those situated in hard-to-reach areas.

The vaccines to be administered are of two types – fIPV, which stands for fractional doses of the inactivated poliovirus vaccine, and nOPV, which stands for novel oral poliomyelitis (polio) vaccine type-2 meant to target children 0-59 months.

Speaking at the flag-off of the campaign, Borno State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Prof. Baba Gana, who was represented by the Director, Disease Control and Immunisation, Dr Aliyu Shettima, said the vaccination team would be situated in a fixed and strategic locations, including schools, markets, orphanage homes, motor parks, and other public gatherings.

Shettima said traditional and religious leaders would play a vital role in achieving the overall objective of the campaign, as he thanked WHO for their continued support.

The WHO acting Director for Borno State, Dr Moisule Ganga, said, “The World Health Organisation will continue to support the state government to immunise eligible children, including those in hard-to-reach locations.”

Ganga added, “This campaign has the capacity to eliminate any potential virus, including the wild poliovirus, and we are optimistic that we will achieve 100 percent success.”

He commended WHO for its commitment to the state’s objective of ensuring access to quality health services.