FIC REPORT (SOKOTO STATE) – The Sokoto State Government has officially flagged off the sub-national immunisation plus polio campaign across all 23 local government areas. The state government, World Health Organisations (WHO) and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) have urged traditional leaders, community leaders and parents to ensure that all eligible children receive the polio vaccine.
The state Commissioner of Health, Dr Faruk Muhammad Wurno, represented by the Special Adviser to the state Governor on Health, Dr Muhammad Bello Marnona, stated that the campaign aims to interrupt the transmission of the circulating poliovirus type 2(cVDPV2) and to ensure that no child in the state is paralized.
According to him, the campaign which runs from 7th to 11th November, 2026,is to ensure that all children below 5 years including zero-dose children, those missed before, those who are in IDP households, nomadic settlements and insecurity affected areas are immunised. The state Government is working with development partners including UNICEF and the World Health Organisations to achieve its immunisation goals.
Also speaking, the representative of the African Field Epidemiology ( AFENET), raised concerns over the declining funding for polio activities, saying that available resources could no longer cover every location. Funding constraints have made it necessary to prioritise some areas for supervision and monitoring across the country.
In his remarks, the UNICEF Sokoto Field Office, Chief Mr Michael Juma, urged journalists to help address misconceptions, focus on evidence-based reporting, highlight zero-dose and missed children.
Ramatu Sani (Mrs),
Head of Centre,
FIC, Sokoto.
7th/11/2026.
