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The executive director of National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Ado Jimada Mohammed, has disclosed that about ten states in the federation have endemic cases of poliomyelitis, even as he said, Katsina and Kaduna states have great burden.
LEADERSHIP WEEKEND, gathered that nine new cases of infection was recorded in Katsina state from January to June this year in five local government areas of Mani, Ingawa, Batsari, Sandamu and Maiadua.
The latest infection recorded in Katsina state was that of a two-year-old girl at Karkarku village in Sandamu council area of the state.
Speaking yesterday, at the flag off of immunisation on polio eradication, Dr Muhammad said thirty local government areas in ten states of the federation had reported cases of new infection noting that Niger state is the least with one case of infection.
Dr Muhammad said that the federal government had stepped up effort with the relevant stakeholders, adding that they would deploy the use of GPS in tracking to ensure that each location is reached.
He attributed the recurring incidence of polio to lack of effective coverage. According to him; some children are left out during the routine immunisation exercise, assuring that government was determined to make sure each child was immunised.
He said the federal government had increased its financial commitments to the task of combating the disease and disclosed that over N4.5 billion had been approved for the fight against poliomyelitis.
The director said local governments remained the most critical arm in the fight against the menace and noted that the failure of health system in affected locality was responsible for the difficulties recorded in combating the disease.
Meanwhile, Katsina state governor, Ibrahim Shehu Shema, urged local government chairmen in the state, to rise to the challenge of combating polio in their localities by ensuring that new cases are not recorded.
“If we see new cases of polio in any local government council, the chairman will have political polio,” he said.
