Kano, NPHCDA set target to vaccinate over 250,000 children against polio

The Kano State Government, in collaboration with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), has inaugurated a “local targeted response” to vaccinate 279,538 vulnerable children against polio in the state.

The programme targets vulnerable children in 34 wards in 19 local government areas (LGAs) in the state. The state has 44 LGAs.

This is part of the government’s efforts to curtail the “circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVPV2)”, according to a post by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Nigeria on X.

Polio (poliomyelitis) is caused by poliovirus. It is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under five years of age.

The WHO noted that the initiative is funded by the Gates Foundation, reiterating its commitment to complement the government’s efforts to reduce the cases of the polio variant to at least 80 per cent by December 2024.

“To ensure quality implementation and adherence to the SOPs and Guidelines, WHO deployed 484 field volunteers, 68 enhanced independent monitors, 45 local government facilitators, 19 airport health officers and six management support teams to provide tech support to the vaccination team and ensure no child is missed,” it noted.

NPHCDA set target to vaccinate over 250,000

Cases of the circulating strain

Nigeria was declared free of wild polio in 2020, but the transmission of the cVPV2 strain of the paralysing disease remains a concern in the country.

As of 13 August 2024, WHO reported 72 confirmed cases of cVDPV, 42 per cent of which were recorded in Nigeria.

WHO noted that Algeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, Mozambique, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Uganda, and Zimbabwe have detected cVDPV in the environment but have not detected any cases.

A total of 527 cVDPV cases were recorded in 2023 in the Africa region.

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About polio

Polio is a highly infectious disease that mostly cripples young children by attacking their nervous system and causing spinal and respiratory paralysis and, in some cases, death.

It spreads from person to person through coughing or sneezing or from coming in contact with the poop (faeces) of an infected person (faecal-oral route).

Initial symptoms are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness of the neck and pain in the limbs.