The Kano state commissioner of health Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf says Nigeria has discovered more than two million (2,000,000.00) un-immunized children due to insecurity and other challenges in the country.
Dr. Labaran disclosed this at a capacity development training workshop for health managers in Nigeria organized by Nigeria Healthcare Sector-wide Approach (SWAP) and implement by Kano state ministry of health with the support and collaboration of federal ministry of health and social welfare, Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiatives (NHSRII) and nigerian Governor’s Forum held in Kano on Wednesday.
The commissioner said the workshop which focused on training all monitoring and evaluation officers at the ministry as stepdown for the earlier one conducted in Abuja at the national level centered towards Rational, realistic, pragmatic and comprehensive plan that informs health budget for the people of Kano state.
READ ALSO: Polio: Mari-care, SWOCHI, CLIP Engages Stakeholders on Importance of Immunization
“In Nigeria we discovered that more than two million children are un-immunized and going by this figure you know what it means, that over 60% or 70% of this un-immunized children will be northern part of the country, and by so doing i am sure northwestern states will take the lion share due to insecurity in the area, and also Kano received these in-secured people now with this you may say that significant number of these un-immunized may be in Kano,” commissioner.
Dr. Labaran urged the participants to ensure they fully understand what would be discussed at the three training which will go long way in improving health coverage in Kano state.
According to him, the ministry has been in the last two years making coordinated activities with all the stakeholders to ensure that all children has been immunized.
“Kano state government has in the last two years set up immunization taskforce chaired by the deputy governor of Kano comrade Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo which i co-chaired and the committee were tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that all children in Kano were immunized, and for this the taskforce which include district, villages and ward heads has been ensuring that all children in the state especially those that come from neighboring states has been identified, enumerated and vaccinated,” said Dr. Labaran.