Sokoto State Government has commenced another round of polio immunisation campaign aimed at ensuring that eligible children across the 23 local government areas of the state receive life-saving vaccines.
The exercise, which began on Friday, November 6, 2026, and will run until November 11, is being supported by development partners as part of ongoing efforts to sustain the fight against poliovirus and protect children from preventable paralysis.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), one of the partners supporting the campaign, said it would strengthen awareness creation and media engagement to ensure wider participation and help achieve a polio-free environment for every child in Sokoto.
Speaking with journalists, the Chief of UNICEF Sokoto Field Office, Dr. Michael Juma, urged media practitioners to provide balanced and evidence-based reports on the vaccination exercise while also helping to build public confidence in the programme.
Dr. Juma said the media has a critical role in encouraging parents and caregivers to present their children for vaccination, especially children who have never received any dose of the polio vaccine, those missed during previous campaigns, and children living in hard-to-reach communities.
He noted that effective media coverage would not only document the progress of the exercise but also promote community ownership and strengthen trust in the immunisation programme.
“More importantly, I would also urge the media industry to provide evidence-based information, appropriate and correct information in terms of bringing more children, especially the zero dose, the missed children, and also children in hard-to-reach areas, so that we have 100 per cent full coverage of polio vaccination,” Dr. Juma said.
The polio vaccination campaign is being supported through funding from partners including the Gates Foundation, United States Government, Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), World Health Organisation (WHO), Solina, AFENET, CDC and Dangote Foundation.
The support from these organisations has contributed significantly to reducing cases of poliovirus and preventing children from suffering permanent disabilities caused by the disease.
Also speaking, UNICEF Senior Health Manager and Polio Team Lead, Dr. Asnakew Tsega, stressed the importance of public awareness in ensuring that parents understand the benefits of vaccination.
Dr. Tsega said vaccination remains one of the most effective ways of providing children with protection and immunity against polio, adding that the media remains a key partner in reaching families across communities.
The Sokoto immunisation exercise is expected to strengthen efforts towards achieving full vaccination coverage and ensuring that no child is left unprotected against poliovirus.
