FIC Report (Sokoto State) – Sokoto State Governor, Ahamed Aliyu, has officially flagged off the March, 2026, polio vaccination campaign, targeting 1.2 million children under the age of five years.
The state Governor, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Aliyu Muhammed Bello Sifawa, emphasised that the campaign aims to interrupt the transmission of the circulating variant poliovirus type 2 and ensure that no child in the state is paralized.
He stated that the campaign, which runs from 7th to 10th March, 2026, is not business as usual, as they have adopted a more aggressive approach and strategy through the co-administration of Novel oral polio vaccin type 2(DOPV2) and oral polio vaccin (OPV).The dual approach will ensure comprehensive protection of children against multiple strains of the virus. To ensure total coverage, the technical Director has trained and deployed a massive workforce across all 244 wards in the 23 Local Government Areas of the state.
Additionally, 2,380 ad-hoc staff will cover house-to-house visit, 488 special teams and 321 fixed post teams have been mobilised to provide routine immunisation.
The Governor, urged Local Government chairmen and traditional rulers to ensure zero tolerance of non-compliance and any official found sabotaging efforts or mismanaging operational funds would face sanctions.
The Governor, emphasised that the campaign is crucial to ensuring that no child suffers from the Preventable disease. The state is working with the development partners including UNICEF and the World Health Organisations to achieve its immunisation goals.
In his remarks, the Special Adviser on Primary Health care, Dr Bello Muhammad Marnona, said that the exercise aims to immunise children and plans are underway to recruit additional medical personnel.
Ramatu Sani (Mrs),
Head of Centre,
FIC, Sokoto.
8th/3/2026.
