The Nasarawa State Government has called for intensified public awareness and community mobilization ahead of a polio vaccination campaign following reports of suspected cases of the disease in the state.
Campaign set for Nov. 7 to 10
The campaign is scheduled for Nov. 7 to 10, 2026. Iskilu Saleh, executive secretary of the Nasarawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency, made the call at a mass media mobilization dialogue on polio vaccination at the agency’s headquarters in Lafia, the state capital.
The reports did not give the number or location of the suspected cases, or say whether they have been confirmed.
UNICEF urges sustained vaccination
UNICEF consultant Samuel Sesay called for sustained polio vaccination and better hygiene practices to support eradication efforts. He said effective vaccines and the decline in reported cases over the years show that eradication is achievable.
He attributed the persistence of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus to gaps in immunization coverage, particularly in communities where some children have not received vaccines, and urged health workers to keep accurate records and verify children’s vaccination status during campaigns.
Earlier campaigns and cases
Nasarawa recorded two cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus in October and November 2025, according to the World Health Organization’s state coordinator, Bosede Ezekwe, who said in March that the virus remains in circulation in the state.
A March campaign targeted more than one million children under five across all 13 local government areas, with health workers going house to house and setting up vaccination points. The vaccines used include the oral polio vaccine and nOPV2, which carries a reduced risk of mutation.
In April, the state and UNICEF announced integrated health camps in four local government areas, Awe, Nasarawa, Keffi and Toto, offering nutrition and minor health services alongside vaccination after acute malnutrition was found during an earlier round. UNICEF supplied ready-to-use therapeutic food for affected children.
State officials said the previous round recorded 93% coverage, noting that more effort was needed to reach every child.
Zero-dose areas
The agency had earlier documented two zero-dose children in the Lafia and Nasarawa local government areas and declared a state of emergency in those areas earlier this year, Saleh said in a meeting with UNICEF’s polio behavior-change consultant.
Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that mainly affects children under five and can cause lifelong paralysis or death. It spreads mainly through contaminated food, water or unwashed hands, can circulate silently for weeks without symptoms, and has no cure. Vaccination is the most effective prevention, health officials said.
Children from birth to 59 months are the target group, according to UNICEF immunization specialist Ahmed Tsofo, who has said that one infected child puts about 200 more children at immediate risk.
