The Katsina State Government has unveiled plans to reach 19,790 settlements in a statewide immunisation and child healt campaign at reducing preventable diseases and improving child survival rates. The initiative, scheduled for March 28 and 29, will target children from birth to nine months, as welll as those under five years, according to the Executive Secretary of the Katsina State Primary Health Care Agency, Dr. Shamsudee Yahaya.
Yahaya said the exercise forms part of a broader strategy to strengthen routine immunisation and expand access to essential healthcare services at the community level.
He explained that the campaign would complement existing routine immunisation schedules, ensuring that eligible children receive vaccines at critical stages, including at birth, six weeks, 10 weeks, 14 weeks, and up to nine months.
“This campaign is designed to ensure that all children who may have missed their vaccines are reached. It is also an opportunity to strengthen routine immunisation and protect children against vaccine-preventable diseases,” he said.
The intervention will involve house-to-house visits, outreach services, and the deployment of special teams to underserved and hard-to-reach communities across the state.
In a related development, the state government said it is targeting about three million children in a broader house-to-house polio immunisation campaign scheduled to run from March 28 to 31, 2026.
Speaking at a mass mobilisation dialogue with journalists, social media influencers, and U-reporters, Yahaya noted that the campaign is being implemented in collaboration with development partners, including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
He added that trained health workers would visit homes, schools, markets, and remote communities to ensure full coverage, urging parents and caregivers to cooperate with vaccination teams and take advantage of the free services. “Extensive preparations have been made, including the training of frontline health workers, community mobilisers, and volunteers,” he said.
Yahaya further disclosed that special teams have been deployed to border areas, markets, and nomadic settlements, with supervisors assigned at various levels to ensure effective monitoring and accountability, expressing confidence that the campaign would significantly reduce the risk of polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
