Gombe to immunise 850,000 children against polio

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Gombe State, Alhaji Usman Bello, has said that 850,000 children would benefit in the next round of polio immunisation organised by the state gpvernment.Bello said at the flag-off of National Immunisation Days in Gombe recently that the ministry had concluded preparations for the successful execution of the exercise.He stated that special focus would be placed on nomadic Fulanis by the more than 3,136 health and technical personnel that would conduct the immunisation.The Permanent Secretary who was represented by a director in the ministry, Alhaji Salisu Waziri, appealed to parents and all stakeholders to support government in the fight to eradicate wild polio virus in the country.He said the support of traditional and religious leaders since 2009 had helped in curtailing the problem of rejection of polio vaccines by some households.Bello, however, noted that there were still areas with high cases of rejection, but he assured that government and other stakeholders would ensure total coverage in this exercise.'It is regrettable to note that five local government areas, namely Akko, Gombe, Dukku, Funakaye and Yamatu/Deba, have unacceptable proportion of non-complianceand missed children.'Indeed, Akko LGA, and particularly Garko ward, had remained an enclave with the highest risk in the entire state, as a result of oral polio vaccine rejection,' he said.In his remarks, the traditional ruler of Kaltungo, Mai Kaltungo, Alhaji Sale Mohammed, advised people in the state not to toy with the health condition of their children.``I am advising particularly those with known history of rejecting the polio vac- cine that, that the vaccine is safe.
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