The National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the Northern Traditional Leaders Committee on Primary Healthcare (NTLC) have committed to vaccinate children displaced by banditry.
This followed the recent situation report in Zamfara state and the report on circulating variant polio type2 which is currently spreading in some states.
The traditional rulers under the auspices of Northern Traditional Leaders Committee on Primary Healthcare (NTLC) and the officials of NPHCDA on Thursday met in Sokoto to strategize on how to reach those children and pregnant women in communities ravaged by banditry for immunization and other services.
The meeting was attended by traditional rulers from communities affected by banditry in Sokoto and Kebbi states.
Sultan Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, who was represented by the Emir of Argungu, Sama’ila Mera described the meeting as very important in view of the pathetic situation of the children.
Sultan Sa’ad explained that the meeting was convened because of the situation report received from Zamfara which had devastating security situation.
”The situation has made access to many communities and children difficult or impossible, creating a risk of outbreak of vaccine preventable diseases.
”Currently Zamfara has the highest burden of vaccine-derived polio virus, and similar situations exist in Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states.
“We resolved to contact Emirates and Chiefdoms in order to collate all communities displaced, where they were relocated and communities under the control of bandits as well as the population affected, especially children,” he said
According to the monarch, feedbacks were also expected from traditional rulers in order to plan how best authorities could reach every child in such communities with a vaccine and medical support for pregnant and lactating mothers.
The Executive Secretary of NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shu’aibu, noted that, inaccessibility was a formidable threat to their efforts to interrupt the transmission of circulating variant polio type2 currently spreading in some states, putting every child at risk.
” We cannot afford to repeat the mistake we made then and this is why my team at NPHCDA are grateful to NTLC for initiating this strategic meeting with our district heads who have settlements that are inaccessible due to insecurity, ” He said.
Shu’aibu urged traditional rulers to continue using their influence to champion health advocacies in respective communities and creat gateways for increasing reach at inaccessible settlements.
In her remark, Ms Maryam Said, the UNICEF Chief of Field Office Sokoto, said challenges of poor participation of men in accessing health services for their families as well as poor turnout of women and children for routine immunization, antenatal care and others still persist.
