Health officials in Zamfara State, North-West Nigeria are on high alert as a fresh polio outbreak threatens thousands of children.
Authorities have confirmed 10 new cases across five local government areas of the state, including Gummi, Tsafe, and Maru.
This comes just weeks after the state recorded a smaller cluster of cases in March. With the virus spreading, the state government and Unicef have launched a massive emergency response to protect the next generation.
The fight against polio in Zamfara State is reaching a critical point. Health teams say insecurity and vaccine resistance remain the biggest hurdles, leaving many children in hard-to-reach areas completely unprotected.
At a sensitisation meeting in Gusau, the state capital, Executive Secretary of the State Primary Health Care Board, Hussaini Yakubu-Anka, confirmed that teams are now moving house-to-house.
Their goal is to reach 1.6 million children across all 14 local government areas.
To encourage parents, officials are even distributing packs of noodles to every child who gets the drop.
The statewide campaign officially kicked off on Saturday, April 18 as health workers say they are racing against time to stop the virus before it spreads into neighbouring states.
Authorities are warning that any health worker caught diverting the incentive food packs meant for the children will face immediate prosecution.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
