The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has enlisted the support of traditional rulers in Bauchi State to ensure widespread compliance with polio vaccination efforts.
During a courtesy visit to the Emir of Dass, Alhaji Othman Usman, on Friday, Dr Nuzhat Rafique, UNICEF Chief of the Bauchi Field Office, emphasised the crucial role traditional institutions play in encouraging polio vaccine uptake.
Rafique thanked the Emir of Dass for his commitment to the well-being of children and urged him to rally other traditional and community leaders, as well as district heads, to ensure all children in the state were immunised.
She lauded Dass Local Government Area (LGA) for being free of zero-dose children and open defecation but noted that Bauchi as a whole lagged behind in key health indicators.
She stressed the importance of the upcoming polio campaign, scheduled for 24-30 April, as Nigeria’s final opportunity to eradicate polio.
Rafique also offered her support to visit non-compliant households to ensure all children received the vaccine.
In response, the Emir of Dass, who also chairs the Bauchi State Emirate Councils Committee on Health (BASECCOH), confirmed that traditional rulers in the state had launched a renewed strategy for polio sensitisation.
He outlined plans for regular visits to health facilities by district heads to monitor the immunisation process and pledged that the Emirate would actively supervise the campaign across the state.
The Emir assured Rafique of their commitment to achieving polio eradication in Bauchi.
