Polio: Vaccine rejection reduces in Sokoto LGAs

The National Programme Manager (NPI) Sokoto North Local Government Area in Sokoto State, Alhaji Sidi Nura, has said there has been an increased acceptance of the polio vaccine by residents of the area.
He said: “Cases of non-compliance have reduced drastically compared to previous exercises.”
Nura stated this yesterday while commenting on the March 2016 round of the four-day Immunization Plus Days (IPDs) exercise, which ended last Tuesday.
According to him, non-compliance resolving committees were set up to ensure cases of rejection were addressed during the immunization exercise.
According to him, 92,222 children in the local government area were targeted for immunization against polio in the March exercise.
The overseer of the programme in Wamakko local government area, Faruk Sifawa, said there was tremendous reduction in the cases of non-compliance.
He said dialogue and sensitization were key to the success recorded in the March exercise in the local government where 84,002 children were targeted.
According to him, the remaining two areas  of recurring cases of rejection of the vaccine in the locality included Badon Barade and Gwiwa low cost.
In Illela local government, the Director of Health, Mrs Amina Jibril, said the local government targeted over 100,000 children during the exercise and that they covered over 90 per cent of the target in the first three days of the exercise.
In Sokoto South local government, the NPI Manager, Alhaji Usman Shehu, said the target was 96,300 children.
He disclosed that the state government provided 101,300 doses of the oral polio vaccine to the local government for the exercise, while 11 health camps were established by the local authorities   to diagnose and dispense free drugs to the children.