At the launch of these National Immunization Days, Health Minister Garba Hakimi indicated that 6,842,491 children under the age of five are affected by the campaign which ends on Monday.

He urged local, administrative, customary and religious authorities to become more involved in the operation, Xinhua news agency reported.

"To do this, all mediums of information will be used to convey the message related to this vaccination campaign," he announced.

Poliomyelitis or polio is a viral disease that causes irreversible paralysis and can be fatal in some cases.