Massive Turnout in Kano Polio Vaccination Campaign Defies Expectations
Thousands of children immunized against poliovirus in Bunkure Local Government Area .Parents and caregivers , have whole-heartedly embraced vaccination of their children against the virus.
This followed an aggressive campaign launched by the Kano Field Office of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Kano state government during the June 2025 National Immunisation Plus Days (NIPDs) Campaign, in the state.
Our Correspondent reports that Bunkure is among the three Local Government Areas in Kano where polio virus was detected before the June NIPDs campaign.
However, Bunkure recorded large turnout of parents and caregivers who brought their children for vaccination during the June NIPDs campaigns.
Our Correspondent who monitored the exercise across the Bunkure Local Government Area observed that children were immunised as parents came out en masse to surrender their children for the healthy exercise.
Hajiya Amina Ibrahim who brought her child to one of the immunisation centres told our Correspondent that Bunkure had never recorded such a mass turnout during polio immunization programmes in recent times.
“You are aware that the Deputy Governor was here in person few days ago when the immunisation exercise was launched.
“He came with UNICEF and other development partners and we were advised and lectured on the need to surrender our children for polio immunization.
“I must confess to you that every child who is suppose to get polio immunisation is being brought forward for th to exercise, because we now know that polio vaccines are very good for the health of our children.”
Our Coorespondent reports that the Deputy Governor, Aminu Abdulsalam Gwarzo, recently flagged off the June 2025 National Immunization Plus Days (NIPDs) Campaign, in Bunkure Local Government Area.
In his remarks during the flagging off, the Deputy Governor who doubles as the chairman of State Taskforce on Immunisation and Primary Healthcare noted that it
surprised him when some people reject polio vaccination because it is brought from the Western world and they feel it is contaminated, “then I ask, the panadol and the paracetamol they freely take, where do they come from and who manufactured them? So, it is high time we had a rethink and begin to embrace polio vaccination which is not harmful from all indication.”
The Deputy Governor further stated that, “we are flagging off polio vaccination in the 44 Local Government Areas. Bunkure was selected because it was one of the three Local Government Areas where we recorded cases of polio virus in Kano state this year. We selected Bunkure so that we can come here to sensitize you, to mobilize you, to wake you up to the realities on ground; so that you will understand that there is polio virus here, and there is need to fight the virus. We are not taking this fight against polio for granted, we are doing everything possible to steadily fight against polio virus in Kano state.
“We, therefore, call on all the Local Government chairmen, the District Heads, the Councillors and other opinion leaders to do everything possible to ensure that they administer this vaccines to all our children. We will monitor the exercise here in Bunkure, and across all other Local Government Areas to ensure that this vaccination exercise is a success. We will ensure that these vaccines are seriously utilised. I want to appeal to the mothers and everybody concerned to ensure that their children partake in these vaccination exercise.”
In his address, the Chief of UNICEF Field Office, Kano, Mr. Rahama Rihood Mohammed Farah, advised all residents to embrace the polio vaccination for the wellbeing of their children, and also to protect posterity. He said: “If we can eradicate polio in Kano, we can eradicate polio in other places. Let me also take this opportunity to deeply appreciate the commitment of Kano state government and the Local Government chairmen for their unrelenting efforts. Let us make sure that every child in Kano state receive the vaccine. UNICEF will continue to participate in the supervision of the polio vaccination; and UNICEF will continue to provide logistics and financial support for the vaccination.