Polio vaccine acceptance has surged in Hotoro North, Nassarawa Local Government Area of Kano State. This is a result of a renewed collaboration between the Kano State Government, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and key community stakeholders with officials reporting a sharp decline in cases of parental resistance.
The campaign comes on the heels of a disturbing resurgence of circulating variant polioviruses in three local government areas, Warawa, Bunkure, and Nassarawa, where three new cases were detected earlier in 2025. These incidents underscored lingering gaps in immunization coverage, largely due to misinformation and resistance from a fraction of parents who previously declined to vaccinate their children.
However, a recent visit by journalists to Hotoro North revealed a striking turnaround in public response. Field reports indicate that growing awareness efforts, powered by religious and traditional institutions, are yielding impressive results on the ground.
Alhassan Iliyasu, Chairman of the Ward Development Committee (WDC) and a member of the local polio taskforce, confirmed that community resistance has significantly dropped. He recounted that on the third day of the campaign, health teams encountered only four resistant households. After intervention by community leaders, three of the families willingly presented their children for vaccination.
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“We’re seeing real change,” Iliyasu said. “Thanks to continued sensitization and involvement of respected community figures, more parents are seeing the importance of immunization and allowing their children to be vaccinated.”
Umar Ahmad, the Wakilin Hotoro North and representative of the village head, also praised the collective effort. According to him, awareness campaigns are now embedded in local religious and social structures. “We make announcements in mosques, engage community leaders, and partner with Voluntary Community Mobilizers (VCMs). When there’s a case of non-compliance, we intervene immediately—and by the grace of God, people are now cooperating,” he said.
The campaign’s success has been further echoed by Hauwa Ibrahim, the Assistant Ward Vocal Person, who described the ongoing immunization round as the most positively received in recent years. “It’s encouraging to see parents themselves approach us to ask why their children haven’t been vaccinated yet. There’s a new wave of awareness, and while a few still hesitate, most become receptive after sensitization,” she explained.
Stakeholders have applauded the multi-tiered approach that combines medical outreach with traditional authority and faith-based messaging. Marked houses and updated immunization records in Hotoro North now serve as tangible proof of progress in a region once burdened by misinformation and vaccine hesitancy.
With Kano State intensifying efforts to achieve a polio-free status, Hotoro North now stands as a shining example of what community-driven health campaigns can achieve—highlighting the power of partnership, education, and persistence in defeating one of the world’s most preventable diseases.
