Muhammed Jamil Abubakar
The Gombe State Government, in partnership with the Federal Government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has launched the second round of the 2025 National Immunization Plus Days (NIPDs) alongside the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCHW), targeting more than 832,000 children and pregnant women across the state.
The exercise was flagged off at Swa Ward in Balanga Local Government Area, where the Deputy Governor, Dr. Manassah Daniel Jatau, represented by the Chairman of the Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency (GSPHCDA), Dr. Ahmad Yahuza Kashere, called on parents and caregivers to ensure that all eligible children and pregnant women participate in the campaign.
Dr. Kashere explained that the exercise aims to immunize children under the age of five against polio, administer vitamin A supplements to 770,852 children aged between 6 and 59 months, and provide deworming tablets for children aged 12 to 59 months.
He added that health workers will also screen children for malnutrition and distribute multiple micronutrient supplements to 214,126 pregnant women to improve maternal health outcomes.
He further stated that the state government remains committed to ensuring that no child is left behind, noting that health teams would be deployed to hard-to-reach and remote communities.
According to him, the campaign will also include the distribution of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine for malaria prevention among pregnant women, as well as health education on nutrition, breastfeeding, hygiene and household health practices.
The deputy governor commended development partners for their continued support and assured them of the government’s determination to sustain immunization and child survival programmes despite competing demands.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Abdulrahman Shuaibu, represented by the Director of Disease Control and Immunisation, Dr. Mustapha Musa Abdullahi, said the integration of NIPDs with MNCHW would help Nigeria maintain its polio-free status. He warned against complacency, stressing the need to prevent any resurgence of wild polio in the state.
Dr. Abdullahi noted that the campaign is expected to significantly improve health coverage across Gombe State, adding that post-campaign assessments would be conducted to identify and reach children who may have missed earlier immunization rounds.
He urged all stakeholders to intensify community mobilization to ensure maximum participation.
In her remarks, the Chief of UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Dr. Nuzhat Rafique, reaffirmed UNICEF’s commitment to ensuring that no child is left behind.
She disclosed that UNICEF had supplied more than 20,000 bottles of multiple micronutrient supplements for pregnant women and over 700,000 doses of vitamin A for children to support the campaign.
Dr. Rafique called on parents, caregivers, traditional rulers and community leaders to support the exercise, describing immunization as one of the most effective interventions for protecting children against preventable diseases.