UNICEF Moves to Eradicate Polio in Katsina

Francis Sardauna in Katsina

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has launched a gender mainstreaming programme aimed at improving immunisation coverage and eradicating polio in Katsina State.

The programme, Majalisan Rigakafi (Men groups), launched by the wife of the state Governor, Zulaihat Dikko Radda, Wednesday, will engage the male parents in the state in routine immunisation. 

Speaking during the unveiling of the programme, the Chief of UNICEF Field Office Kano, Mr. Rahama Farah, said the programme underscores UNICEF’s commitment to ending polio virus in the state.

Farah, represented by the UNICEF Health Specialist, Saudat Basheer, said the male parents would help UNICEF in pushing the 2024 indices for fully immunized children in Katsina above 45 per cent.

“Our children should not be dying of diseases that are easily preventable with vaccines and today fathers and men have come together to help us achieve the goal of zero dose and polio free Katsina,” he added.

He expressed UNICEF’s readiness to scale up the initiative to enable all parents to become members of the ‘Majalisan Rigakafi’ for improved immunization coverage and global polio eradication. 

In her remarks, Mrs Radda said low immunisation and misconception about polio vaccines among rural dwellers have threatened the lives of many children for years. 

She stated that women bear family responsibilities for the health of their children in many communities due to cultural norms and lack of support from their spouses “but this initiative (Majalisan Rigakafi) will change the narrative”.

She therefore admonished critical stakeholders to espouse the UNICEF initiative in order to prevent children from suffering from vaccine-preventable diseases.