By Kazeem Waris
The Sokoto State Government, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other development partners, has intensified efforts to eradicate polio, targeting more than one million children for vaccination amid persistent insecurity and challenges accessing vulnerable communities.
The renewed campaign featured aggressive community mobilisation, public awareness activities and calls for stronger participation in routine immunisation, as stakeholders marked the 2026 World Polio Day under the theme, “One Day, One Focus: Ending Polio.”
The campaign culminated on Saturday, October 24, with a sensitisation rally organised by UNICEF to mobilise youths, women, persons with disabilities and other community groups towards strengthening public participation in the fight against the crippling disease.
Speaking after the rally, UNICEF Social Policy Specialist, Isah Ibrahim, said the organisation had intensified engagement with stakeholders to ensure that every eligible child in Sokoto State received the polio vaccine, particularly those in communities affected by insecurity.
Ibrahim disclosed that the exercise was targeting more than one million children across the state, stressing that sustained collaboration among government institutions, traditional rulers, community leaders and development partners was critical to achieving the objective.
He, however, expressed concern over the impact of insecurity on immunisation operations, noting that access to some communities remained a major challenge.
According to him, only five local government areas remained accessible for vaccination operations under the prevailing security conditions, underscoring the need for continued assessment of access constraints and stronger community-level interventions.
To address the challenge, Ibrahim said the state government had engaged local government chairmen, councillors, their wives, community leaders and traditional rulers to intensify house-to-house and door-to-door sensitisation.
The strategy, he explained, was aimed at overcoming misconceptions, misinformation and other barriers that could prevent parents and caregivers from presenting their children for vaccination.
Polio survivors take centre stage
Also speaking after the rally, the Director of Advocacy at the Sokoto State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dahiru Kamaru Gada, described the four-day World Polio Day programme as a successful public engagement campaign designed to reinforce the urgency of eliminating the disease.
Gada said the programme, which began and ended at the state’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), combined sports, community mobilisation and public enlightenment to reach different segments of society with the message that polio could be defeated through collective action.
The activities began on October 21 with a youth football match designed to harness the popularity of sports in mobilising young people and encouraging them to take ownership of the eradication campaign.
On October 22, government representatives and development partners participated in a friendly football match, which Gada said symbolised the importance of political commitment, government leadership and adequate funding in translating public health interventions into measurable results.
The third activity, held on October 23, featured a para-soccer match between Team Virus and Team Vaccine, with polio survivors participating to highlight the devastating consequences of the disease.
According to Gada, Team Vaccine emerged victorious in the symbolic contest, reinforcing the importance of immunisation as a critical defence against a disease capable of causing lifelong disability.
“Virus brings disability, while vaccine brings life. Vaccine must always win,” he declared.
The match, he said, was intended to remind parents and caregivers that vaccination remains essential to protecting children from preventable diseases and their potentially lifelong consequences.
Government, partners renew commitment
Gada commended the Sokoto State Government under Governor Ahmed Aliyu for supporting immunisation and disease prevention programmes, noting that effective coordination between public authorities and development partners remained indispensable to reaching vulnerable and underserved populations.
He also acknowledged the contributions of UNICEF, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) and Rotary International to the campaign.
The grand sensitisation rally on October 24 moved from the Emergency Operations Centre through Marina, Yar Goriba, Gobirawa and Rijiyar Dorowa before returning to the centre.
Participants marched along the designated routes, sang awareness songs and engaged residents on the importance of immunisation and collective responsibility in preventing polio transmission.
Speaking on behalf of the Acting Executive Secretary of the Sokoto State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Bilyaminu Yari Sifawa, Gada formally declared the 2026 World Polio Day activities closed, reaffirming the commitment of government, development partners and communities to ending the disease.
He urged parents and caregivers to present all eligible children for vaccination, stressing that vaccines were free, safe and available daily at primary healthcare centres.
With insecurity continuing to complicate access to some communities, stakeholders said sustained mobilisation, stronger partnerships and community participation would remain crucial to ensuring that no eligible child was left unprotected in Sokoto State.
