The Sokoto State Government and Sightsavers Nigeria have intensified efforts to curb child mortality and improve immunisation coverage following the recent meningitis outbreak that claimed the lives of 33 children in the state.
The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr Faruk Abubakar-Wurno, disclosed the figure during separate engagements with traditional rulers and local government chairmen ahead of the May 12 statewide vaccination and azithromycin administration campaign.
The intervention, being implemented under the Safety and Antimicrobial Resistance of Mass Administration of Azithromycin on Children in Nigeria (SARMAAN) project, targets about 1.2 million children aged between zero and 59 months across the 23 local government areas of the state.
Speaking during a media orientation in Sokoto at the weekend, the Director of Advocacy at the Sokoto State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (SSPHCDA), Mr Kamaru Gada, appealed to media practitioners to support sustained sensitisation on immunisation, tetanus prevention and administration of azithromycin to eligible children.
He said the state recorded over 90 per cent coverage during the last round of the exercise, expressing optimism that wider community mobilisation and media support would help sustain the gains and reduce childhood deaths linked to preventable diseases.
Sightsavers Programme Officer, Mr Olayinka Lawal, said the SARMAAN project aligned with global efforts to improve child survival outcomes in low and middle-income countries through bi-annual administration of azithromycin.
He added that the programme particularly supports communities affected by neglected tropical diseases such as schistosomiasis, among others.
At a separate engagement with 87 district heads and local government chairmen, Sightsavers State Team Lead, Mr Muhammad Ridwan, said traditional institutions and council authorities remained critical to achieving community acceptance and effective coordination of the programme.
He noted that previous rounds of the intervention recorded significant success with minimal resistance, urging district heads and council chairmen to cascade awareness campaigns to ward and village levels to strengthen participation.
Also speaking, the Sultan of Sokoto, represented by the District Head of Wurno, Alhaji Kabiru Cigari, assured continued support for immunisation campaigns and other public health interventions, stressing that the fight against meningitis, tetanus and other childhood diseases required collective action from government, traditional institutions, health workers and the media.