3rd February, 2011
More than 200 families in Yobe missed the five-day polio immunisation exercise which ended on Tuesday, an official has said.
An official of the immunisation committee in the state, Malam Usman Abubakar, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Damaturu on Wednesday that the families missed out because of the ongoing voter registration.
He said that preliminary reports gathered from 12 out of the of 17 Local Government Areas of the state indicated that there was low response from many households to the immunisation.
“Many families left their homes early to attend to voter registration,†he said.
However, some families interviewed by NAN said they were not aware of the exercise.
Malam Umar Gashua, said: “I am not aware of the polio immunisation exercise that lasted for five days.
According to him, there was little awareness among the people this time around,
Hajja Umma Goni, a housewife, said people were more concerned about voter registration than polio immuisation.
Yobe State Chairman of Immunisation Committee, Alhaji Mohammed Babe, said: “our problem is time which coincides with the voter registration.†“ There was also the problem of publicity from our local government mobilisation officers,†he said.
He listed Gashua, Nguru and Potiskum as the major areas that were effectively covered by the committee, and gave the assurance that much would be done in the second phase.