By: Mukhtar Yahaya Shehu
Kano state government has assured its commitment to maintain its status of polio free state.
The state commissioner for health Dr Abubakar Labaran Yusuf stated this during the flag off of the November 2025 sub National immunization Plus Days campaign in the state.
He said the November Polio campaign is the last in the series of 4th Round exercise in the outgoing year 2025.
” Today’s event underscores our continuous efforts to safeguard the lives of our children against vaccine-preventable diseases, particularly poliomyelitis. Kano State has come a very long way in this journey. Together with our traditional leaders, development partners, local government authorities, and dedicated health workers, we have strengthened surveillance systems, optimized service delivery, and expanded routine immunization coverage across all communities.” The commissioner said
Dr Abubakar Labaran Yusuf also said despite the global detection of circulating poliovirus in some locations, Kano State continues to maintain high sensitivity of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance demonstrating our ability to detect and respond early to any poliovirus threat.
The commissioner pointed out that during the last round, over 95% coverage was achieved according to administrative data, while independent monitoring confirmed a reduction in missed children-from both household and non-household settings.
“We are encouraged that the number of zero-dose children has continued to decline, particularly in previously high-risk LGAs.However, we are not yet at our destination. The few LGAs that recorded gaps must redouble efforts to strengthen political engagement, improve micro-planning accuracy, track new settlements, and reach underserved and nomadic populations. We must also focus on improving vaccination team quality, adherence to standard operating procedures, and timely resolution of operational challenges — especially in areas prone to security or population movement complexities.” He added
Dr Abubakar Labaran further said this campaign aims at reaching more than 3 million children aged 0–59 months with the oral polio vaccine, ensuring no child is left unprotected.
” I therefore charge all 44 Local Government Chairmen, District Heads, Ward Focal Persons, and community mobilizers to fully mobilize households and ensure the visibility of political leadership throughout the four-day exercise.” The commissioner urged
He also charged health workers to always discharge their duties professionally especially during the campaign exercise.
“To our frontline vaccinators – the heroes of this campaign – I commend your resilience and passion. As you go house-to-house and settlement-to-settlement, please continue to uphold professionalism, data accuracy, quality supervision, and respectful care for families.” Dr Labaran added
The commissioner on behalf of Kano state government appreciate the efforts of Development partners, traditional rulers, Religious Leaders for the support given to the state for the success of the exercise.
“as we collectively protect our children and strengthen public health security.Permit me to also call on every parent, caregiver, and guardian:Open your door to the vaccination team. Ensure your child receives the vaccine-today, tomorrow, and always. One missed child is too many. One unvaccinated child puts every child at risk.” The commissioner emphasized
Speaking earlier, the Director General state primary healthcare management Board Professor Salisu Ahmad Ibrahim commended the Kano state government in supporting all the immunization Exercise.
Professor Salisu Ahmad Ibrahim called on supervisors during the exercise to ensure vaccinators all eligible children are vaccinated.
