Tag: polio

  • Rotary Lagos Island marks World Polio day

    Members of Rotary Club Lagos Island have marked this year’s World Polio Day at Elegushi Market, Lekki.

    Members of the club marched round the market with a band and a big banner. They sang and danced as they moved round. Some of them came with their children and spouses. They also held a talk.

    The club’s President Sanjeev Tandon said the aim of the event was to, principally create awareness on the dangers posed by the disease, immunise children and ensure that the marketplaces were kept clean. He said the world over only three countries Pakistan, Afganistan and Nigeria (PAN) were still not polio-free. He said the club’s wish was to see to it that Nigeria was left off the hook in the next two years.

    Tandon said: ‘’We opened this camp at this market to  create awareness on polio. We walked around the market and gave some children vaccination. We are trying our best on polio eradication.’’

    An executive of the club Chief Glover said Rotary had taken it upon itself to stamp out polio from the country. ‘’That is why the district set up the camps. This is a disease that can be prevented with just two drops of the vaccine. Polio is caused by unhygienic conditions Children are not immune. It affects their spinal cords. But with good hygiene and clean environment, it can be eradicated. The market is the best place to tackle it.’’

  • Monkey virus, polio vaccine, cancer, immunity, herbs

    Monkey virus and monkey pox are the latest health issues in Nigeria. Ebola fever, with its potential to depopulate nations as the Black plague which wiped out about 30-60 percent (75-200 million) of Europe’s population between 1346 and 1353, is long forgotten now. So is HIV/AIDS which once caused a stir. Cancer is still on the ravage, with breast and prostate cancers being major causes of cancer deaths. But few people, doctors and patients alike, link a cancer with fungi, candida, bacteria, viruses and even heavy metals, which are regularly found in cancer tumours.

    Until 1994, monkey virus was not linked to a cancer in humans. This monkey virus, known to researchers as SV 40, was before 1994 known to cause cancer in animals. In 1994, Dr. Michelle Carbone, a Loyola University researcher, found the Monkey virus in half of the lung tumour he was studying. Dr. Carbone thought his discovery was a mistake. But it was not, as 60 laboratory studies other than his found Monkey virus in other human tumours that were investigated in Britain, New Zealand, France, Switzerland and Belgium.

    Acrimony among researchers, as in the case of HIV/AIDS, has hindered research progress, with some investigators challenging Dr. Carbone’s finding’s and saying the virus could have been induced by polio vaccine.

    Dr. Janet Butel, a virologist at Baylor College of Medicine, United States, agrees humans may have picked up Monkey virus from polio vaccine because the vaccine is made from monkey kidney cells. Thus, between 1955 and 1963, an estimated 20 million Americans may have been contaminated with Monkey virus SV 40 from polio vaccine. Nigerian data are not easy to come by. But a United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) campaign in 2016 aimed to vaccinate 41 million children in 18 Nigerian northern states, Chad Republic, Niger Republic, the Cameroon and Central African Republic, according to a report by Anna MacSwan. Last year, just when it was thought that polio had been eradicated in all countries except Afghanistan and Pakistan, some attacks in North-east Nigeria brought UNICEF back there to vaccinate 25 million children. Last month, polio vaccination raised the political temperature in two states in Nigeria’s South-east where the Army had just put down a social protest to balkanize Nigeria into independent nations. The army had joined other organisations which, for good community relations, were offering free polio vaccination for children. The army’s olive branch was ill timed, however, as its antagonists waged a social media campaign against the drive, claiming it was designed to depopulate the region.

    The antagonists of the Nigerian Army in the south-eastern states of Nigeria may be wrong or simply waging an ethnic war against a President they did not elect to power in 2015. But their reactions may have been instinctive or even intuitive at other levels if, indeed, Monkey virus SV 40 causes cancer, and the vaccine against it, derived from the monkey kidney, may have been contaminated by this virus, with the potential of contaminating vaccinated children and, some day, exposing them to cancer. Thus, the Monkey virus may be a cancer-causing agent in the bodies of everyone who has taken the polio vaccination derived from monkey kidneys. That may explain why adults of my age or younger, or even children under 10years of age, are now falling prey to cancer in today’s Nigeria, and we wonder: why children? Yet the answer is simple. If today’s children habour monkey virus in their bodies, but their immunity still being strong fends off a cancer, it may be only a question of time before the ugly bear raises its head because of the anti-health diet this children are expose to. What may mark the difference between the person who took the vaccination as a child and did not suffer from cancer till death from other cause(s) in ripe, old age, and the one who died of cancer at any age may be the quality of the immune function, diet and other factors.

    This column wishes to suggest that, in the treatment of Monkey virus, the immune system should be given priority attention as should the use of anti-viral herbs, some of which are presented below. It is interesting and helpful to note that the black plague which killed 200 million people did not kill four thieves in Marseilles, who picked pockets of the dead and ransacked their graves and homes but were not infected by this highly contagious disease. They protected themselves with herbs given to them by the mother of one of them who was a herbalist. There are many accounts of this story and herbal protocol. One of them came from Dr. John Christopher, a popular American herbalist.

    According to www.kitchendoctor.com: “Dr. John Christopher had a slightly different story and a variation of the formula that is clearly American, not French. His “Four Thieves” story is that there was a man named Richard Forthave who developed a remedy for the plague that was marketed under his name, a name which was corrupted to “Four Thieves.” There might indeed have been grave robbers who used this remedy to protect themselves while they divested corpses of treasures they would no longer need. The King of France had the thieves arrested and they bought their freedom with the remedy they had been using. Thus, the remedy did not fall into obscurity and has been used for centuries since to protect against contagion.

    “DR. JOHN CHRISTOPHER PLAGUE FORMULA

    • 8 parts apple cider vinegar, •5 parts glycerine U.S.P.
    • 5 parts honey, •2 parts garlic juice, fresh, • 2 parts comfrey root concentrate •1 part wormwood concentrate, •1 part lobelia leaf and/or seed concentrate, •1 part marshmallow root concentrate, •1 part oak bark concentrate •1 part black walnut bark concentrate, •1 part mullein leaf concentrate, •1 part skullcap leaf concentrate •1 part uva ursi, hydrangea, or gravel root concentrate.”

     

    Monkey virus

     As the name of this disease suggests, it is caused by a virus. To prevent or dislodge it, a therapy may follow two directions. Viruses strike when the immunity is low. So, the immune system must be addressed. Secondly, anti-viral herbs should not be too far from reach.

    Some useful immune boosting and anti-viral herbs are Red Marine Algae, Astragalus, Cat’s claw, Cranberry, Olive leaf, Oregano leaf, Echinacea, Calendula (Marigold), Garlic and Cinnamon.

     

    Astragalus

    Like Burdock root and Dandelion, Astragalus tea, tincture, capsule or powder added to stew, for example, improves immune defences against viruses.

     

    Cat’s claw

    Loaded with antifungal, antiviral and anti-bacterial substances the tea may be taken regularly in place of beverage drinks which add little or no value to immune function or combat viruses.

    While some authorities believe more studies are required to confirm folklore claims that cat’s claw can fight cancer and boost immunity, some studies say it actually does. In one animal study, water soluble extract of Cat’s claw was given for eight weeks to the subjects. The white blood cell count rose significantly in all of them. The researchers found that the supplement repaired damage to single and double DNA strands. No acute or chronic toxicity was observed in the experimental animals. In a human study, human subjects took cat’s claw supplement for two months before they were vaccinated against pneumonia. The report of the study speaks of “statistically significant immune enhancement” in the individuals taking the cat’s claw supplement compared with the untreated control group.

     

    Olive leaf

    This herb has the outlook of a broad spectrum fighter of diseases. We take it for granted. Yet scientists have found that one of its constituents, oleuropein has the potential to lower blood pressure, curb elevated blood sugar, lower total cholesterol and, in addition, destroy fungi, bacteria and viruses. Oleuropein and other compounds in Olive leaf have been shown to prevent viruses from reproducing by inhibiting their ability to produce amino acids. This is an advantage over antibiotics, which lack “a targeted attack of the problem” rather than attack the viruses and the host human cells.

    Traditionally, olive leaf has been used to boost immunity and provide antioxidant protection against free radical ravage. One study suggested that a liquid extract of olive leaf has four times more antioxidant than Vitamin C and twice as that of Green tea. Some of the viruses which have been shown to yield to Olive leaf extract are those of common cold, herpes and flu.

     

    Shark liver oil

    This oil helps in cold and flu which are known to be caused by viruses. Its leading chemical factors are Alkylglycerol and Squalene. Squalene helps the sharks to survive low oxygen environment in deep water. Squalene is present in human skin, but its production and availability there reduce with age. Alkylglycerol have been used in northern Europe to prevent and treat cancer. In other European countries, it is widely used for making the immune system more efficient. It is prescribed for conditions such as asthma, and other respiratory conditions. It is finding new uses in anti-aging therapies, particularly for immune cells and the cardiovascular system.

    An Italian study in the flu season of 2009/2010 experimented with 100mg of Alkylglycerol two times a day at the peak of the season. The study involved 52 participants. The control group, comprising 60 participants, received no Alkylglycerol. All the subjects took the traditional flu vaccine. Of the 52 Alkylglycerol group, 42 participants (81 percent) had no flu symptoms during the flu season with the other 10 having only mild symptoms. Their ailment cleared between two and three days without any drug treatment. The control group presented only 20 of 60 participants (33 percent) with no flu symptoms. The others were infected in varying degrees.

    We should thank the people of Norway and Sweden who, for hundreds of years, have used shark liver oil to heal wounds, respiratory and digestive system problems and swellings in the lymphatic system, especially inflammation of lymph nodes.

    In the human body, the largest concentration of Alkylglycerol is in the bone marrow where immune and red blood cells are produced. It nourishes the bone marrow and suggests why shark liver oil or Alkylglycerol is prescribed for chemotherapy patients whose white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets are suppressed by this poisonous anti-cancer drug.

    The second largest concentration of Alkylglycerol in the body (.05 percent) is in the spleen, an important segment of the immune system which performs anti-bacterial functions. As a member of the immune support system, the spleen, when nourished well with Alkylglycerol, offers support for this crucial system, especially in Monkey virus therapy. The immune system may be healthy and good, but its hands may be too full and this may lower its efficiency. When the spleen helps to clear bacteria out of the way, the system has reserve energy to deal with viruses and other troublesome agents. It is not surprising, therefore, that Alkylglycerol is present in human breast milk at 0.1 percent concentration, to give the baby immune protection.

     

    Red Marine Algae

    As early as 600 B.C., this algae has been used as food and as medicine to clear circulation obstructions and improve well-being. Its use as an anti-viral remedy is popular in China. But this does not dwarf its other uses in, say, “boils, urinary infections, goiter, asthma and stomach problems, and also for ulcers and tumours with varying degrees of success”.

    In European countries, Red Marine Algae is well known for the treatment of cold sores, which are virus-derived. For a long time, cold sore sufferers had no long-term relief. As this column once wrote.

    “Herpes I, or cold sores are not nice viruses because they can be dormant for years and then be activated by one trigger or another. These triggers include menopause, stress, dental work, other infections, sunburn and fatigue caused by overwork…it starts off as a small blister, perhaps one or two, with a slight burning sensation. You don’t take much notice of it, suddenly it expands and becomes very painful. Like an itch on your skin, you can’t.

    Jobelyn maintains record in LASUTH breast cancer study

    I HAVE not trailed Jobelyn for about one or two years. But when I finally did about two weeks ago, I was not disappointed. I probably would if Mr. Olajuwon Okubena, the chartered accountant who produces Jobelyn, has become tired, for whatever reason, of subjecting it to rigorous laboratory and clinical studies.

    Jobelyn began its life in Nigeria as a traditional herbal remedy for anaemia in all sorts of health conditions, especially sickle cell challenge. Later, it was found useful for arthritis. Later, it was found good for diabetes. Later, it was found to improve well-being of users who suffered from HIV/AIDS, cancer, mental illness and stress. All these discovered benefits were known through rigorous studies at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) pharmacy department, the University of Benin, the University of Ibadan, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), the Military Hospital in Ikoyi, Lagos, and at various laboratories in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.

    The latest experiment with Jobelyn was undertaken by LASUTH to determine if this product can reduce negative side effects associated with chemotherapy in breast cancer treatment. The study was to answer four questions.

    • Does Jobelyn improve PCV of breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy?
    • Does Jobelyn improve white blood cell count of Breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy?
    • Does Jobelyn improve red blood cell count of breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy?
    • Does Jobelyn improve heamoglobin readings of breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy?

    Chemotherapy is the treatment of choice of conventional medicine in the treatment of various types of cancer. It is a poisonous, free radicals laden drug which is targeted at fast-growing cells in the body, cancer cells being fast growing as well. Unfortunately for many patients, Chemotherapy is non-selective and wages war on even healthy, fast growing cells as well. These include hair cells, those of the skin, intestine and bone marrow. Other healthy, but non-fast-growing cells may also be affected. Some of the common negative side effects of Chemotherapy are experienced with…

     

     

    Bone marrow cells

    These cells produce white and red blood cells and platelets. White blood cells fight infections. Red blood cells carry oxygen round the body. Platelets prevent bleeding. Chemotherapy may suppress the bone marrow, causing anaemia (low red blood cell count), neutropenia (low neutrophil count), neutrophilia (high neutrophil count) and thrombopenia (low platelet count).

     

    Hematocrit

    This is the percentage of red blood cells in relation to total blood volume. In earlier experiments with Jobelyn regarding anaemia in malaria, the hematocrit was found to improve within 24hours, giving Jobelyn at that time the image of an “alternative to blood transfusion”. The hematocrit is thought to be normal at a range of 31.8 to 43.2 percent.

    The kidneys participate in the production of red blood cells by producing a protein called erythropoietin which stimulates the bone marrow to produce red blood cells. Chemotherapy may suppress the production of this protein.

    During the LASUTH Jobelyn study in which some breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy were given Jobelyn along with their treatment and another group was given a placebo, the following observations were made…

    “1. Jobelyn given in combination with breast cancer chemotherapy appears to stimulate red blood cell production as HCT values are considerably higher compared to those breast cancer patients who received chemotherapy alone.

    1. Jobelyn given in combination with breast cancer chemotherapy also appears to directly stimulate red blood cell production as RBC values are higher compared to those breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy alone (RBC= 3.58-4.99 mil/mm3).
    2. Jobelyn given in combination with breast cancer chemotherapy elicits a very slight increase in haemoglobin production compared to those breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy alone (haemoglobin=11.1-15.0g/dL).

    In summary, jobelyn given in combination with breast cancer chemotherapy stimulates red blood cell production improving both HCT and RBC and reduces chances of developing anemia by improving haemoglobin levels.”

  • Rotary district 9141 vows to intensify fight against polio

    Rotary International District 9141 has pledged to intensify effort in the fight against polio with a view to removing Nigeria’s name from the list of the endemic countries.

    It said cases of children infected by polio in Nigeria have been reduced by 99.9% but that until polio is eradicated forever, every child remained at risk.

    New District Governor for district 9141, Ikponmwosa Osagie Ogiemudia, stated this shortly after he was installed.

    The new district 9141 was created out of the old district 9140 covers Edo, Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa States.

    Mr. Ogiemudia said Rotary District 9141!would soon commence treatment of children with heart defects within the district.

    Ogiemudia said plans were already at an advance stage to begin the treatment this month.

    Ogiemudia who spoke shortly after he was installed as the pioneer governor of the district said he would work hard to ensure communities within the district benefit from the humanitarian services of Rotary.

    Mr. Ogiemudia stated that besides the free heart treatment to be provided for children, there were plans for communities under the district to feel the impact of Rotary services to community development.

    Ogiemudia said there were already offers from counterparts in Mexico for community water projects as well as support from India for any project the district comes up with.

    He noted that many promises of Rotary to communities have not been achieved because Nigeria has the least number of Rotarians to assist in solving identified problems.

    According to him, “We need more Rotarians to deliver the promises we have made to the children of the world. If the people in the continents and countries that have fewer challenges are joining Rotary, why can’t we?

    “This year, we will come to you and beg you to support our Rotary Foundation. Help me to save mothers and children I will never know. Help me to provide water I will never drink and help me provide books I will never read.

    “When Rotary clubs are closer to the people and when we increase our passion for service, Rotary will be more effective and more communities will benefit.”

  • Global leaders pledge $1.2b to protect 450m from polio

    Global leaders pledge $1.2b to protect 450m from polio

    Global leaders have pledged fresh $1.2 billion to protect 450 million children from polio.

    The decision was reached at the Rotary Convention in Atlanta, United States (U.S.) yesterday.

    Polio has paralysed more than 350,000 children each year in more than 125 countries around the world in the last 30 years.

    But the highly contagious virus has now been eliminated in all but three countries: Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan. There have been only five cases to date in 2017.

    However, children still remain at risk everywhere until polio is completely stopped. To end the disease for good, government representatives and partners came together to renew their commitment to supporting crucial activities such as vaccination and disease monitoring, which will protect more than 450 million children from polio each year.

    World health leaders, who gathered at the Rotary Convention in Atlanta to reaffirm their commitment to eradicating polio, pledged $1.2 billion to finance efforts to end the disease.

    The latest funding will help address a $1.5 billion funding gap that will help ensure that the virus is eliminated from these remaining countries and prevented from regaining a foothold anywhere else in the world.

    “Constant innovation has been key to improving vaccination coverage and reaching more children with the polio vaccine,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, Acting Director of the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. He further added: “The unrelenting commitment and support of these global leaders will help us do just that – and ultimately end this disease for everyone and forever. CDC remains deeply committed to polio eradication and has contributed $2.28 billion since the beginning of the initiative.”

    Also, UNICEF Executive Director, Anthony Lake said the funding commitments will enable the programme to keep improve performance and overcome challenges to reach every child, including vaccinating children in conflict areas.

    He said, “We are, together, truly on the verge of eradicating polio from the planet—but only if we work relentlessly to reach the children we have not yet reached.

    “We cannot fail to make this last effort. Because if we do not now make history, we will, and should be, judged harshly by history.”

    “Thanks to the incredible efforts of Rotarians, governments, health workers, partners and donors –  including those who have gathered at the Rotary Convention in Atlanta – we are closer than ever to making history,” said Chris Elias, Global Development President, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Chair of the GPEI Polio Oversight Board. “These new commitments will help ensure that we will finish the job.”

    Major pledges include: $75 million from Canada, $61.4 million from the European Commission, $55 million from Japan, $30 million from Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

    Others are:  $30 million from the Dalio Foundation, $25 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies, $15 million from an anonymous donor, $13.4 million from Australia, $ 11.2 million from Germany, $5 million from easyJet, $5 million from Italy and $4 million from the Republic of Korea.

     

     

     

     

  • World leaders pledge $1.2bn support to polio eradication programme

    World leaders pledge $1.2bn support to polio eradication programme

    World leaders have pledged a fresh $1.2 billion intervention fund to protect 450 million children from polio.

    The decision was reached during Monday’s Rotary Convention in Atlanta, United States.

    Polio had in the last 30 years paralyzed more than 350,000 children in more than 125 countries across the world.

    The highly contagious virus has been eliminated in all but three countries -Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan. There have been only five cases in 2017.

    However, children still remain at risk everywhere until polio is completely stopped. To end the disease for good, government representatives and partners came together to renew their commitment to supporting crucial activities such as vaccination and disease monitoring, which will protect more than 450 million children from polio each year.

    World health leaders that gathered at the Rotary Convention to reaffirm their commitment to polio eradication pledged $1.2 billion to finance efforts to end the disease.

    The latest funding will help address a $1.5 billion funding gap that will help ensure that the virus is eliminated from these remaining countries and prevented from regaining a foothold anywhere else in the world.

    “Constant innovation has been key to improving vaccination coverage and reaching more children with the polio vaccine,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, Acting Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    “The unrelenting commitment and support of these global leaders will help us do just that and ultimately end this disease for everyone and forever. CDC remains deeply committed to polio eradication and has contributed $ 2.28 billion since the beginning of the initiative.”

     

     

  • ‎Polio: Kaduna has maintained zero status since 2012 – El-Rufai

    ‎Polio: Kaduna has maintained zero status since 2012 – El-Rufai

    Kaduna State has maintained ‎a zero polio status since November 2012, the state Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai has disclosed.

    The Governor who disclosed this during the on-going ministerial briefing at the Correspondent Chapel of Kaduna NUJ through his Commissioner for Health Dr. Paul Manya Dogo reiterated the committed of the state government to do all humanly possible to maintain such status.

    He noted that prior to the administration under his leadership‎, the health indices of the state were very disturbing despite investments in healthcare, hence the need that saw to the convening of a health summit very early into his administration that brought together important relevant stakeholders including local, national andinternational partners to discuss the Kaduna State healthcare.

    According to the governor, Kaduna State now has a robust immunisation program, purchase of cold chain equipment ‎(144SDDs refrigerators) to fill in the gaps and such equipment have been deployed to the 255 Primary Health Care (PHCs) centres with additional zonal cold stores built and fitted with walk-in-cold rooms for effective andefficient routinne vaccination.

    “Close to one thousand directly funded primary health centres now offer ‎routine immunization with outreach services to their host communities.

    “The polio eradication initiative has been sustained and th estate has maintained a zero polio status since November, 2012” he said.

    “For improved health outcomes, government is committed to building a resilient health commodities‎ supply chain management system. Our sustainable drug. Supply system and free maternal and child health program did not have a functional logistic management system or standard operating procedures.

    “The aim of the intervention is to institute an effective, efficient, visible and well coordinated health supply chain management system. We are currently in the implementation phase of the transformation,where the solutions and models have been launched for testing before scaling up”.

    The governor also disclosed that Kaduna State is the first state in the country to have a baseline costing of its public supply chain ‎management system, adding that a master data for all drugs and health commodities to give it visibility.

    “With the support of the centre for Disease control, Kaduna State has just completed the first ever Kadua AIDS indicator ‎survey that will hopefully give us the correct current prevalence rate of HIV and AIDS in the state,” he further disclosed.

  • No Polio case has been reported in over 270 days, says Minister

    No Polio case has been reported in over 270 days, says Minister

    … National Health Act ‘ll guarantee right to minimum health service

    Nigeria will sustain the current momentum in the effort to rid the nation of polio, Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole has said

    The Minister announced that Nigeria is yet to record any new case in over 270 days, since August 21st 2016.

    Adewole, who delivered an address on behalf of Nigeria at the 70th World Health Assembly at the United Nations building in Geneva, explained that the country immediately declared the polio outbreak a national public health emergency.

    He said,   “In curtailing the spread of WPV1 across our borders, there has been a robust international outbreak response and enhanced surveillance activities which include high level coordination with countries of the Lake Chad Region, implementation of high quality rounds and vaccination of high risk populations during in-between rounds activities and re-activation of RI services in newly liberated areas.

    “The Minister acknowledging the Nigerian Military, noted,  “through innovative collaboration with the Military, we gained access to fragile secured territories.”

    The Minister also assured that the current momentum will be sustained for as long as it takes to be certified polio free and beyond.

    Adewole, in his remarks also discussed Nigeria’s progress towards achieving Universal Health Coverage; he said that the agenda would be driven by the one Primary Healthcare Center (PHC) per ward programme of the Muhammadu Buhari administration. To this end, he said that the country had begun the operationalization of the National Health Act which specifies that “all Nigerians shall be entitled to a Basic Minimum Package of Health Services.”

    The Minister also discussed the country’s Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) efforts, Accelerated TB Case Finding and ongoing Humanitarian response in the Northeast of Nigeria.

    Professor Adewole appreciated the outgoing WHO President, Dr. Margaret Chan for her support for Africa in troubled times.

    The outgoing president, Dr. Chan, thanked the health ministers and international partners for their support during her tenure. She charged them to continue to put the people first.

    “Behind every number is a person who defines our common humanity and deserves our compassion, especially when suffering or premature death can be prevented,” she said.

  • FCTA teams up with NOA against polio,flood

    As part of measures to strengthen the war against poliomyelitis, threat of flood and protect the environment, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has declared its intention to collaborate and work closely with the National Orientation Agency (NOA).

    The FCT Minister Malam Muhammad Bello disclosed this while receiving the FCT Director of the National Orientation Agency who paid him a courtesy visit in his office.

    Bello who commended the FCT NOA for their support to the FCT Administration, stressed that the administration requires the services of the agency now more than ever before in sensitising the residents, particularly the Abuja office.

    The Minister expressed the Administration’s preparedness to leverage on the very wide network of the NOA in the fight against polio following the warning from experts that FCT is at a high risk of its re-emergence.

    He pointed out that the vulnerability of Abuja became so pronounced because of its position as a major hub for travelers as well as a safe haven for people affected by insurgency and militancy across the country.

    “We will also collaborate with the NOA in other important areas which include a sustained campaign on the protection of the sanctity of lives, especially that of children against harmful traditions, the environment and preservation of the Abuja Master-plan,” the Minister said.

    “As you know more than I do, change and being able to inculcate the spirit of change in individuals and communities is a very difficult task and governance at any level cannot really achieve its full potentials if you do not carry the governed along.”

    Bello added: “Over the last one year or so, we’ve tried to strengthen institutions and the capacities of those that man the institutions so that we truly deliver on our mandates. In trying to do so, the greatest challenges I and my team are faced with is, being able to reorient people to do what is right”.

    He reiterated that Abuja is the only city in the entire federation that is a creation of law, noting that everything done in Abuja is governed by one set of regulations or the other and these regulations are clearly enunciated and enacted to guide and help us run the city.

    Earlier in his address, the NOA Director, Mr. David Manya Dogo, commended the leadership by example style of the Minister, saying, “I dare say you are one of the leaders who is leading by example and we commend you for that.”

    The NOA Director said the agency is very active in the campaign to prevent meningitis and polio, pointing out that they have been working at the level of Area Councils to see that people are adequately sensitized on these very important issues.

    Other areas of the agency’s activities the Director said include working with the INEC on the continuous voters registration exercise to ensure proper mobilization and sensitization of the citizens, particularly the residents of FCT on how they can partake in the exercise.

    He assured the Minister that NOA is working together with the Task Force on the decongestion of the Nyanya-Orozo-Jikwoyi-Karshi road to evolve a strategic communication plan that leverages on dialogue sessions and citizen engagement.

  •  ‘Malnutrition hinders children’s immunity against polio’

     ‘Malnutrition hinders children’s immunity against polio’

    Molecular Biologist, Dr Bamidele Iwalokun, says malnutrition is a major hindrance to Nigerian children’s mounting adequate immunity against Poliomyelitis, even with vaccination.
    Poliomyelitis, often called Polio or infantile paralysis, is an infectious disease caused by the polio virus.
    Iwalokun, head, Immunology and Vaccinology Research Department, Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Yaba, Lagos, in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, said the inability to mount adequate immune response with oral polio vaccine was one of the factors leading to the resurfaced cases of polio in parts of the country.
    “Malnutrition is described as the most common immunodeficiency globally, a malnourished child may not be able to respond effectively to vaccines and this is not peculiar to polio vaccine alone.
    ”Some children that are being vaccinated for measles still come down with measles sometimes and we are expected to have long time immunity after been vaccinated.
    “We do have confounding factors that are making Nigerian children not to mount adequate response to vaccines that have been given to them and our immunisation programme does not take this into consideration.
    “When a child is vaccinated, after few months, it is expected that the blood sample of such child should be taken and screened for antibodies raised against the antigens in the body,’’ Iwalokun said.
    He said besides the nutritional effects on the response to oral polio vaccine, environmental virology was needed to survey for polio virus in an environment where an index case was being reported.

     

  • Polio: Kano commences 2017 immunisation today

    HE Kano State Government says it will commence the 2017 polio immunisation across the 44 local government areas in the state on Saturday. The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Kabir Getso, said this on Friday in Kano during an interactive session with some development partners in preparations for the campaign against polio in the state. According to him, the interactive session will assist towards achieving the desired results on the four-day campaign against the disease. Getso said despite the fact that the state has not recorded any case of polio for the past 33 months, the state government would not relent in its efforts to prevent further outbreaks. He described such success as a major achievement by the State Government. “In the next three months, we would be celebrating three years without polio in Kano State. “If not for the four cases recorded in Borno State, Nigeria would have been satisfied polio free,” according to the commissioner. He expressed the commitment of the state government towards ensuring that the country became polio free through collaboration with international and home partners. “The Kano state government has provided adequate funds to make sure that the campaign against polio in the state is successful,’’ he said.