WHO rates Kano performance on Routine Immunization below 40%

World Health Organisation (WHO) has rated the performance of Kano State Government on Routine Immunization (RI) against polio and other related diseases below 40 percent, despite the State’s claim of achieving over 80 percent.

This is just as the Organisation donated 72 motorcycles and 45 mobile phones worth millions of naira to the Kano State Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers as part of proactive measures to enhance surveillance activities against outbreak of diseases across the 44 local government areas of the State.

The WHO representative in Nigeria,  Dr Wondimagegnehu Alemu, shortly after the donation at the State government House, told newsmen that though the State RI performance from administrative data was showing over 80 percent , the evidence based survey conducted is indicating 15 per cent performance and when compare this with the administrative data,  the truth could be somewhere around 40 per cent.

“When you determine the survey, you rely not on mere verbal communication that my child has been vaccinated, but you have to see the proof, so the proof is below 40 per cent, what is critical now is to increase the RI because the current vaccination is very low.”

Dr Alemu, who appreciated what he described as ‘extraordinary ‘ cooperation receiving from the State Government and the peaceful atmosphere, urged the government to consider as emergency that the current vaccination is very low and work out strategies with traditional rulers and other key stakeholders on how to improve the immunization coverage.

He noted that the donation of 72 motorcycles to Kano surveillance officers has increased the number of the donated motorcycles to 853 across Nigeria as complementary efforts to assist the National Center for Disease Control for prompt response to disease control especially in some hard to reach areas.

In his introductory remarks, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Kabiru Ibrahim Get so, said apart from the donated motorcycles, the WHO had budgeted N1.5bn for 2018 to support Kano on training and logistics for medical team movement during Immunization Plus Days against polio virus and other diseases.

On his part, the State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who was grateful for the donations, described the WHO’s contributions to health sector in the State as “just too many”, saying the moves had motivated the state government to invest more in the sector. He promised judicious distribution and utilization of the motorcycles and the phones so as to achieve its desired purpose.