The Nasarawa state government is collaborating with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to tackle malnutrition and polio in the state.
Executive Secretary Nasarawa state Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Iskilu Saleh, disclosed this at a one day media dialogue on Polio outbreak Response (OBR) Campaign on Thursday, in Lafia.
He said that the agency is pivoting toward a multi-sectoral approach to ensure that public health interventions reach the state’s most vulnerable and remote populations.
Dr. Saleh, represented by Director of Admin and Human Resources of the Agency, Ayitonu Sunday Emmanuel, emphasized that the strategy relies on mobilizing communities and caregivers through partnerships with religious leaders and school authorities to build trust.
He said the success of the 2026 Polio outbreak response, is leaning heavily on community leaders and the press.
Speaking, Health Specialist Immunization with the UNICEF Kaduna field office, Dr. Ahmed Tsofo, said polio remains endemic due to environmental factors and missed children during previous exercises.
“Polio is a viral disease that causes permanent disability and sometimes death, It spreads through contaminated food and water. If one child is infected, 200 more children around them are at immediate risk. This is why we must adopt a mass campaign strategy to reach every eligible child”, Dr. Tsofo explained.
He attributed the continued persistence of the virus to poor sanitation, open defecation, and clogged drainages, which provide breeding grounds for the virus to survive in the environment.
Dr. Tsofo, urged parents to make their children available for both the oral polio vaccine (OPV) and the injectable vaccines provided during routine immunization.
Also speaking, Director of Nutrition at the Nasarawa Primary Healthcare Mrs. Salome Aya, said the intervention would be implemented in four local government areas; Awe, Nasarawa, Keffi, and Toto.
She said the initiative was informed by reports of widespread malnutrition detected during earlier campaigns, which attracted UNICEF’s support.
She explained that the health camps would provide nutrition services and treatment for minor illnesses. Added that children identified as malnourished during vaccination would be referred to the camps and treated.