By Mansur Sanchi
The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with the Kebbi State Ministry of Health and the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, held a rally to mark African Vaccination Week 2025. This year’s theme is "Immunization for All is Humanly Possible."
The rally began at the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency and proceeded to the Maternal Child Health Clinic (MCH) in Nasarawa, Birnin Kebbi. It endorsed vaccination as an effective means of preventing preventable diseases.
Participants included representatives from various health sectors, including the National President of the Joint National Association of People with Disabilities and his members. Addressing the attendees, the State Coordinator of WHO, Dr. Nasiru Zurmi Bala, emphasized the importance of vaccination in preventing diseases such as polio, malaria, measles, tuberculosis, and meningitis.
He was represented by Mrs. Mathias Ifeyinwa, WHO State Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, who highlighted that vaccines have saved an estimated 154 million lives over the past 50 years, reducing infant mortality by 40% and protecting people from more than 30 deadly diseases worldwide.
Dr. Bala has called for
stronger collaboration among all stakeholders and caregivers to support
vaccination efforts, ensure continuous progress, expand coverage, and close the immunity gap for a healthier society. He urged the state government
to increase domestic investment and secure sustainable funding for
immunization.
Additionally, he
appealed to communities to combat misinformation and vaccine hesitancy. The
State Commissioner of Health, Comrade Yunusa Musa Ismail (Dallatun Birnin
Yauri), assured attendees of the state government's continued support for all
forms of vaccination aimed at improving the population's health conditions.
He noted that Governor Nasir Idris has recently approved the inclusion of malaria immunization in the state’s routine vaccination program to help reduce the spread of malaria. The Commissioner expressed gratitude to WHO, UNICEF, and other partners for their support and called on everyone to promote immunization as a means of disease prevention.
National President of the Joint National Association of People with Disabilities, Comrade Abdullahi Usman, who also serves as the Executive Secretary of the State Commission for People with Disabilities, advocated for a reduction in the number of people with disabilities by endorsing vaccination as a viable solution. Other speakers at the event included the Executive Secretary of the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Abubakar Muhammad, and the Director of Immunization and Disease Control, Junaidu Haliru Gwandu, as well as representatives from UNICEF and the Polio Survivor Group (PSG) among others.
