KADUNA – The Kaduna State Primary Health Care Agency said on Monday in Aduna it had recorded tremendous success in the just-concluded nationwide polio immunisation.
The agency’s Health Education Officer, Alhaji Hamza Ikara, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He said there had been steady improvement in the quality of the various rounds of polio immunisation in the state since January.
According to him, the state has recorded 94.2 per cent patronage during the last exercise concluded on Aug. 12.
“Since the inception of polio immunisation in the state we have not recorded huge success like this quarter, and this is an indication that polio will be eradicated totally in the state.
“In May, we recorded 92.2 per cent success and so also in June, and in July there was increase in coverage to 93.3 per cent.’’ [eap_ad_1] Ikara attributed the success to the agency’s ability to “largely overcome problems of missed children and non-compliance in polio-prone areas of Giwa, Kaduna North, Zaria and Kudan Local Governments”.
“We have almost resolved issues of non-compliance within the 23 LGA in the state, and the agency is ensuring that enough vaccines are being supplied to various communities.
“The compliance level has already gone very high and we are partnering with UNICEF to provide hard-to-reach communities with full supplementary and routine immunisation services.”
Ikara said the agency had adopted strategic means of anticipating and addressing likely challenges that would inhibit the implementation of routine polio immunisation in the state.
“This is being done through the selection of surveillance teams at ward and local government levels.”
Ikara commended the effort of traditional and religious leaders, as well as youths and women groups for their involvement in “sensitisation, mobilisation, monitoring and supervision of the exercise”.
He solicited for more support from relevant stakeholders to ensure complete interruption of poliomyelitis transmission in the state and the country by December.
The last reported case of type 3 polio virus in the state was in November 2012. (NAN)
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