Polio Vaccine: Jigawa addresses community’s demand after noncompliance cases surge

The Emir of Dutse, Hamim Nuhu-Sanusi, has condemned the continuous disinformation on the safety of the polio vaccine in parts of Nigeria.

Mr Nuhu-Sanusi spoke on Sunday when he led a delegation to a polio vaccine-noncompliant community to dispel misinformation about vaccine uptake.

Before administering the first dose of the vaccine to children under five in Jiba, a community on the outskirts of the Jigawa State capital, the traditional ruler said false claims about the vaccine’s safety and efficacy, such as the vaccine causing infertility, were baseless propaganda.

Mr Nuhu-Sanusi said the polio vaccine is effective in building the immune system of children under five years of age, adding that his late father administered the drops regularly to his grandchildren.

“If you see pictures of the late Emir immunising children, he always uses my kids, his own grandchildren. If he intended to harm people, would he do it to his grandchildren?

“When the issue of immunisation started, people were saying it was intended to stop women from giving birth. Many of our women are beneficiaries of the immunisation and are still bearing babies years after they took the vaccine.

“Therefore, I want you to be assured that this immunisation has no harmful effects but helps prevent harmful diseases. So I pleaded with you to disregard any misconception about this exercise because we will not allow anybody to harm you. If we do, we’ll stand on the day of resurrection to give account to Almighty Allah”, the emir stated.

He said vaccines have addressed the sicknesses that were prevalent in northern Nigeria.

The Dutse local council chairperson, Sibu Abdullahi, laid the foundation for a primary healthcare post at the event. He said the council planned to build five more primary healthcare posts this year to increase routine immunisation.

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“We are constructing the primary healthcare post in Jiba because of the non-compliance. We had set up a committee to investigate the reason for the polio non-compliance. We found that the people protested against the non-availability of the health post, which I promised them. We will construct one.

“They are now complying, and today is a reality because nobody is making any complaints, and many people are encouraging,” Mr Abdullahi said.

The Executive Secretary of Jigawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (PHCDA), Shehu Sambo, said the immunisation week exercise was flagged off at Jiba due to the non-compliance recorded in the community.

Mr Sambo, represented at the event by a health ministry director, Hassan Shuaibu, said, “The state is still struggling with some key indicators, especially around routine immunisation.

“The state ministry has engaged with the traditional rulers before, during and after the campaign to reduce non-compliance.

He said the emir was added as a keeper to mobilise and create visibility so the locals would accept the vaccine.

“The campaign aims to eradicate polio. In 2013, Nigeria was certified polio-free, but notwithstanding, we are still witnessing some variants of the polio virus. That is why the campaign is important, aiming for good population immunity and reaching more children.

The target is to reach two million children across the 27 LGAS, using the house-to-house team. We are also conducting the African Vaccination Week in five LGAS. Our aim is to stop this variant of the polio virus not only in Jigawa State but in the country,” the official said.

A resident of Jiba, Buba Ibrahim, told PREMIUM TIMES there are non-compliant households in the community because of limited immunisation knowledge and lack of amenities.

He pleaded with the government to construct an access road to the community.

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The Jigawa State Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), launched a mass immunisation campaign targeting about two million children in the state.

Earlier in the week, Rahma Rihood Muhammed-Farah, Chief of UNICEF Field Office Kano, represented by Serekeberehan Seyoum Deres, Health Manager, highlighted that the campaign coincides with World Immunisation Week.

Mr Muhammed-Farah revealed that in 2025, 18 polio cases were reported across 18 local government areas in nine states, two of the cases occurring in the Hadejia and Sule Tankarkar LGAs of Jigawa State.