By Danjuma Attah, Gombe
Stronger collaboration between the Gombe State Government and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has increased acceptance of polio vaccines that was earlier bluntly rejected by some communities in the State.
According to Dr Oluseyi Olosunde, health officer, UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, who represented Dr Nuzhat Rafique, the chief of field office, at the flag-off of the 2025 National Immunization Plus Days (NIPD’s), Nigeria has only up to the end this year (2025) to clean up the problem of polio in the country.
It was to this effect that the State Government and UNICEF applied a more engaging approach, using the traditional institutions, towards ending the rejection in various communities.
In Garko ward, Akko Local Government Area of Gombe State, known for rejection of the polio vaccines, within two days of the commencement of the immunization exercise, out of the over seventy households that had hitherto rejected the vaccines, only ten households with 15 children were not reached with the vaccines as at Monday morning, two days into the immunization exercise.
Mohammed Umar Lawanti, the Primary Health Care (PHC) Coordinator of Akko LGA, told journalists who were monitoring the immunization exercise, that they only experienced a challenge in Garko ward after the exercise had been without hitches in other areas.
He said, “Garko, being the largest ward in the State got over 70 households rejecting the vaccination on day one and two, with reasons that they were not reached with Government palliatives and treated mosquitoes nets which the Local Immunization Officer (LIO) reported.
“We have a task force known as Fathers Rapid Response Team (FRRT) mobilised by the Emir of Gona, who visited each of the household that had rejected the vaccines. Currently, 10 households with 15 children are remaining as at Monday morning and then we expect a reduction in number of resistance by this evening”, the PHC Coordinator told the group of journalists.
He revealed also that during their previous review meetings, they were proposing to incorporate women groups into the task force to resolve resistance issues and to have more acceptance of the vaccines.
Umar Adamu, Secretary of the Akko Emirate Council, told reporters how the Emirate Council is fully involved to ensure compliance by every household in Akko Emirate.
“I do go round to ensure compliance. We told the vaccinators that whenever they encounter problems with parents, they should tell us by following the right channels of complaints”, Adamu emphasized.
In the efforts to clean up Nigeria from having the polio virus, Dr Oluseyi emphasized that there has been no wild polio virus in Nigeria since the year 2020 but that a circulating derived virus exists, more or less a residual.
“After 2020 that Nigeria was declared polio free, we realised that there has been many cases of this polio (the circulating derived virus) in Nigeria.
“In 2022, we had 126 cases of this circulating derived virus. In 2023, we had 87. In 2024, we had 85 but I within January and February 2025, we’ve had 94, just within two months. So the residual is increasing. It’s as dangerous as the wild polio virus. So we need to tackle it in Gombe.
“Four LGA’s in Gombe (Dukku, Kwami, Yamaltu-Deba and Funakaye are among 100 LGA’s that we have this problem of unreached children with immunization of any kind of vaccines.
“A case of polio is very dangerous to Nigeria and Gombe State. That is why the Deputy Governor challenged the Emirs, District Heads and the Local Government teams because they are the ones needed now to get us out of this problem”, according to Dr Oluseyi.
He revealed also that Nigeria has only the end of this year (2025) to clean up this problem emphasizing that, “the international community has given Nigeria up to the end of this year and the support we are receiving will stop.
“We get a lot of support from outside, so if we’re able to do it this year, it means we are free, but if we’re not able to do it, we are on our own”, the UNICEF Health Officer warned.
End.
