The Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency, with support from UNICEF, is ramping up efforts to improve immunisation coverage across the state through expanded outreach and community engagement.
The agency’s Executive Secretary, Dr. Abdulrahama Shuaibu, made this known after an immunisation review meeting, noting that intensified advocacy campaigns are underway to encourage parents to vaccinate their children.
He explained that the agency is working closely with traditional rulers, religious leaders, and media organisations to raise awareness and build public trust in vaccination programmes.
Shuaibu added that vaccination teams, drawn from local communities, are being thoroughly trained and provided with daily refresher sessions to ensure efficient and high-quality service delivery.
Addressing concerns about vaccine resistance, he reassured parents that the agency, in collaboration with development partners, remains committed to ensuring that every eligible child is immunised.
Also speaking, Dr. Nuzhat Rafique, Chief of UNICEF’s Bauchi Field Office, said grassroots mobilisation and stakeholder engagement have significantly improved public awareness.
She highlighted the active involvement of traditional rulers and emirs, who have supported the campaign by hosting launch events in their palaces, helping to expand its reach and effectiveness.
Rafique disclosed that UNICEF has supplied more than 965,000 doses of polio vaccines, which have been safely distributed and managed across all local government areas in the state.
She noted that the campaign is receiving strong backing from stakeholders, with the state government ensuring proper storage, handling, and delivery of vaccines to frontline teams.
According to her, the exercise is targeting over 700,000 children, with early reports indicating that more than 60 per cent of daily targets are being achieved, although final figures will be confirmed at the end of the campaign.
She, however, emphasised that special attention is being given to over 50,000 “zero-dose” children—those who have never received any form of vaccination—adding that intensified efforts are ongoing to reach them.
Rafique expressed confidence that, with sustained collaboration, strong leadership, and community participation, the state is on course to achieve meaningful results before the end of the five-day exercise.
Overall, the campaign aims to reach more than 900,000 children aged between 0 and 59 months across Gombe State.