The Kano State Government KNSG has attributed the state’s low immunization coverage to the growing influx of unvaccinated children fleeing insecurity in neighboring Northwest states such as Zamfara, Katsina, and Sokoto.
The State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf, stated this during the opening ceremony of a Cascade Capacity Building Training on Systems Thinking and Operational Planning, held in Kano.
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The four-day training, organized by the Kano State Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative and the Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp), aims to build the capacity of Monitoring and Evaluation Officers and Program Managers ahead of the development of the 2026 Annual Operational Plan (AOP).
Dr. Abubakar explained that Kano’s efforts to improve immunization rates are being challenged by the arrival of thousands of children who had missed critical vaccinations in their home states due to prolonged insecurity.
“People running away from states like Zamfara, Katsina, and Sokoto are arriving in Kano with unimmunized children, which is drawing our immunization drive back,” he said.
He cited recent data indicating that over 2 million children in Nigeria remain unimmunized, with more than 70–80 percent of them residing in Northern Nigeria, particularly the Northwest.
“If you analyze this by region, states like Kano, which receive large numbers of internally displaced persons, may have the highest number of unimmunized children,” the Commissioner added.
Dr Abubakar disclosed that the state government has established an Immunization Task Force co-chaired by himself and the Deputy Governor, Comrade Aminu Abdulsalam, with support from traditional leaders down to the ward level.
“The committee is tasked with ensuring that every child in Kano is immunized. We have scheduled community visits to ensure that especially those who recently arrived in the state are not missed,” he emphasized.
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He commended Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for revitalizing routine immunization efforts in the state, noting that Kano previously suffered from neglect, which contributed to the recent diphtheria outbreak that lasted nearly two years.
“We’ve contained the outbreak, but we’re still seeing sporadic cases due to poor vaccine uptake. That’s why we’ve doubled efforts in routine immunization,” Yusuf said.
He urged parents and caregivers to present their children especially those partially or completely unimmunized for vaccinations at health centers.
Speaking on the importance of the training, the commissioner noted that the event follows the successful completion of the national-level Master Trainer Capacity Development Program, and seeks to localize those learnings in Kano.
“This marks a significant step toward embedding systems thinking, strategic planning, and evidence-based decision-making in our health sector,” he noted.
He emphasized that a resilient healthcare system begins with data-driven planning and strategic problem-solving, goals which the training is designed to support.
Also speaking, Esther Zitta, Head of Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, reaffirmed the federal government’s support for Kano’s efforts.