Members of Rotary Clubs in Kogi State on Saturday held awareness walks in Lokoja and Kabba to mark World Polio Day 2026, urging residents to keep their children up to date on routine immunization.
Rotarians carried banners reading “End Polio Now” as they walked simultaneously through major streets in both cities.
The exercise was led by Rotarian Grace Ben Kato, Kogi State Polio Representative for Rotary International District 9126, alongside members of the Rotary Clubs of Lokoja, Lokoja Metro and Kabba Alpha, and Rotaractors.
Kato said the walk was meant to celebrate Nigeria’s polio-free status and to remind parents that immunization remains the only protection against the crippling disease.
World Polio Day, observed every year on Oct. 24, celebrates progress in the fight against polio and promotes sustained immunization, she said.
She noted that Nigeria was certified free of wild poliovirus in 2020, but warned that the threat of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus remains. She said this makes continuous vaccination and surveillance necessary.
Kato urged parents and caregivers to ensure children aged 0 to 59 months are fully immunized. She also called on government and development partners to sustain funding for polio eradication.
To mark the day, the Rotary Club of Idah City immunized more than 100 children in Idah. In Kabba, more than 60 children were immunized during a Polio Awareness Seminar held at Lisa Palm Hotel under the theme “Finish the Fight: The Polio-Free World Starts With Every Child.”
Kato said Rotary International has contributed more than $2.9 billion to global polio eradication since launching its PolioPlus programme in 1985. She said the programme has helped immunize more than 3 billion children in 122 countries and contributed to a reduction of more than 99.9 percent in wild polio cases worldwide. The virus is now endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan, she said.
Citing this year’s World Polio Day theme, “One Day, One Focus: Ending Polio For Good – Together Let Us Build a Polio-Free Future,” Kato called on governments, organizations and individuals to join forces to finish the fight.
She reaffirmed Rotary’s commitment to continue to walk, advocate and raise funds until the world is certified polio-free.
