The emir of Dutse, Alhaji Hameem Nuhu Sanusi, has flagged off a special round of a polio vaccine campaign targeted at reaching over 1.5 million children in Jigawa State.
The ceremony took place at his palace after he personally administered the vaccine on some children and assured the general public that it was safe and effective.
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The emir said the traditional institution would continue to pursue and promote programmes that would enhance the health, social and economic wellbeing of the people and equally go against anything not good for them.
Sanusi called on parents to bring out their children for vaccination to enable the state to sustain the gains made in polio eradication 13 years ago.
While fielding questions from newsmen after the ceremony, the state director of the Primary Healthcare Agency, Dr. Sambo Shehu, said arrangements had been made for the success of the vaccination exercise.
He said over 1.5 million children aged 0–5 years are targeted for the vaccination, and over 3,000 teams comprising over 15,000 ad hoc staff were mobilised for the exercise to reach every child in the state’s 27 local government areas.
“The aim of the vaccination is to strengthen the immunity of our children against any possible resurgence of the polio virus, which we have eradicated from our state for the past 13 years.
“It is a collective responsibility to keep our children and our society safe from this and other deadly viruses; therefore, we call on everyone to play their expected role in achieving their desired goals,” Dr. Sambo stated.