The Nation Newspaper

Tag: polio

  • ‘How we kicked polio, meningitis out’

    ‘How we kicked polio, meningitis out’

    The Executive Director, Katsina State Primary Health Care, Dr. Muawiya Aliu, speaks with Adetutu Audu on  how the state has been tackling polio and meningitis endemic in the state.

    Primary health care is a crucial aspect of medical care. To what extent would you say the Katsina government is giving attention to it?

    I have been here since the agency was created in 2005. The agency is saddled with the responsibility of providing primary health care for the people even as it collaborates with the local governments to provide effective primary health services in the state. It has five departments for proper running of its activities, namely administration, finance and supply, primary health care, ophthalmology and disease control, projects and pharmaceutical services. We are responsible for improvement of maternal and child health, preventive care services, immunisation, health education and mobilisation of the people towards better health behaviour. We collaborate with donor agencies in the state even as we coordinate the comprehensive health centres one in all the 34 local government areas across the state. Here in the state headquarters, we have four health facilities. Katsina has four major gates; around each of these gates, there is a facility which acts as the first level of referral in the health care chain before the General Hospital. We also have mobile ambulances, one in each of the 34 local governments. The essence is to penetrate the remotest parts of the state to give health facilities to the people who ordinarily would not have the opportunity of coming to town to receive healthcare services. What the local government area in this wise does as the ambulance is given to them is to identify which locality does not have health facility yet, make a list of the villages, and on daily basis, the ambulance visits a particular village and renders services. On quarterly basis, the ambulances are given drugs that would last them for that duration.

    How do you prevent the drugs in your health facilities from being commercialised by the personnel?

    When we give them the drugs, we don’t end it there. We have people that monitor them. We have the traditional leaders that monitor what they are doing. Beyond that, we have records for the ambulance itself. Where it is going to, you must indicate by giving date, time and even mileage. We have also directed that traditional leaders must sign a certain document each time the ambulance visits their locality. That is a way of endorsement to the fact that this ambulance was in my domain today. On a monthly basis, we have what we call integrated supportive supervision team that goes out to look at the activities of the ambulance in each of the local governments. Apart from looking at the health facilities, they also check the mobile ambulances. It is these records they look into in order to give proper evaluation of the activities for the month. Katsina is one of the states that started implementing COMESS/CONES, the new improved salary structure for health personnel in the country. All our health workers are adequately taken care of. So, I don’t think they would want to commercialise drugs meant for the poor people. At the same time, these health personnel are indigenes of these localities; whoever they are treating are their own people, so I don’t think they will have the conscience to do that.

    Polio is one of the conditions ravaging young children. How are you combating this?

    I can tell you that polio is an issue to Nigeria as a whole; it is not only Katsina State. All countries have already eradicated polio except Nigeria and two other countries. Coming to Nigeria, in the northern part of the country, there are states that are endemic of the disease, but in Katsina State, we have overcome polio. This is the twelfth month since we recorded the last case of polio in the state. The issue of eradication of polio is not that of the agency alone, it is something that all other sectors are putting in their own contributions in order to get rid of the disease in the state permanently and forever. So, we are collaborating with the traditional rulers, the Ulamas, among others, to get rid of the disease.

    How are the Almajiris being provided for medically?

    I said earlier that we have the mobile ambulance that goes from village to village to look after the people. The governor looked at the under-served sector which he identified as the Almajiris. Whether we like it or not, we have Almajiris that are also part of the communities. They are also in some urban centres seeking for Islamic knowledge, so they are part of us all. That is why the governor thinks there must be a clinic of sort for the Almajiris. So we started one as a pilot project in three local government areas where Almajiris are mostly populated. Three mobile ambulances are provided for them and manned by two health care personnel. Each morning, they go from one Almajjiri school to another. Of course, it is similar to the conventional ambulance service we have in all the local government areas. Under this agency, we have been able to vaccinate over 4.1 m people against cerebral meningitis which is one of the diseases that is rampant in the north. We have vaccinated everybody within the age of one year to nine years. Before now, we used to have outbreak of meningitis on an annual basis once the weather is hot and this is usually around March to May. Since the vaccination, we no longer have the outbreak. We have distributed over 2. 7m treated mosquito nets across the state against malaria.

  • Five years without polio in Anambra

    Five years without polio in Anambra

    Do you have a stiff neck or back? Or do you have sensations of abnormal reflexes, or trouble with swallowing and breathing? You just might need a physician to run a lab test. It could be polio.

    But for five years, no such symptoms or conditions have been recorded in Anambra State, thanks to a comprehensive health plan of the state government.

    Two frontline international foundations run by two of the world’s greatest philanthropists, Dangote Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, have set a target to wipe out polio in Nigeria by end of 2014. They are Chairman, Dangote Foundation, Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr Gates, made the promise in Lagos.

    Dangote said the rate of polio in Nigeria, which has now reduced to about 51 per cent, would be kicked out completely by the end of this year as a result of ongoing efforts by the two foundations.

    He said they have intensified campaign to make sure that children in the states where polio is prevalent are vaccinated. Dangote confirmed that they have been receiving support from northern leaders and that many families have agreed to get the vaccine.

    On his part, Mr. Gates said they are collaborating to wipe out polio in Nigeria because they believe it will help to improve the lives of people and move the economy forward.

    Gates further said that the security crisis in the Northeast, especially in Borno and Yobe states, is undermining the fight to eradicate polio in the country. He noted that a lot of problems still remained as some states do not pick up the best vaccines while others do not release money as and when due for the implementation of the campaign.

    President/Chief Executive of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has initiated a reward system that would encourage folks in rural areas to take part in the routine polio immunisation programme, in all the 44 local governments of Kano State.

    Dangote promised that women who present their children for immunization would be rewarded with free Dangote household products such as noodles, pasta and sugar. He also proposed a more regular meeting of the stakeholders to assess the strategy in order to accelerate the pace of progress recorded so far.

    The Dangote Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Kano State Government had last November signed a Memorandum of Understanding to embark on strategies aimed at eradicating polio from the state. The partnership agreement also includes strengthening immunization as a core component of Primary Health Care (PHC).

    Minister of State for Health, Ali Pate, expressed satisfaction that Nigeria was on course to eradicating the disease, adding that President Goodluck Jonathan has directed that all the necessary funding be made available for the programme.

    In Anambra, Governor Obi said the state would remain polio-free as his government was determined to keep tackling health challenges of any form in the State.

    At the flag off of the Anambra state 2013 National Immunization Plus Days (NIPDs) at the Primary Health Centre Uboma, Ukpor in Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State, Ikeakor explained that the objective of the NIPDs which is safe and free is to ensure that every child born in Anamabra State receives two potent oral polio vaccine, to sustain the interruption of wild polio virus in the state and to scale up delivery of other routine immunisation antigens and other child survival interventions.

    Dr. Ikeakor stressed further that the target population will receive OPV antigen for children from 0-59 months, BCG, DPT, HBV antigens for children under 1 year of age, measles and yellow fever vaccine for children of nine months of age and tetanus toxoid for pregnant women and women child bearing age, adding that special team will be employed to stay at strategic and transit positions to give OPV to children.

    Obi flanked by his wife Mrs. Margaret Obi, Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Lady Henrietta Agbata, her lands counterpart, Barr. Chibuzor Okoli Akirika and some development partners said that Anambra State will be more aggressive in this year’s routine immunization to ensure that Anambra children are healthy.

    “We are here for polio immunization” Obi said. “We did it on quarterly basis last year but this year, it will be monthly because we want to be very aggressive to ensure that our people are healthy. Every child is important to us as we cannot afford to lose any of them as a result of ill health”. While his wife Mrs. Margaret Obi in an interview attested to the fact that Anambra is polio-free, she stressed the need to sustain the onslaught against the white polio virus in the state. Obi, accompanied by his wife, Margaret, daughter, Amaka kicked the exercise off by administering immunisation to many children. He said that he always tried to grace the campaign personally because children, who were the future of the society were concerned. He maintained that any society that neglected to take care of its children and the youth would suffer the consequences in future.

    The Governor who expressed happiness over the improvement in all health indices of the State, including the accreditation of major health institutions in the state that lost accredited before he took over Government, promised that he would not relent.

    Obi thanked those collaborating with the government in the fight against polio. His words:  ”We thank our partners – WHO, UNICEF, World Bank, Bill and Melinda Gates, DFID, USAID, Red Cross, Rotary International, National Primary Health Care Development Agency and others for their contributions. We will continue to partner with them in our concerted effort to eradicate polio. Our commitment to achieving the MDGs and making our people healthy and happy is total.  Today, again, I wish to reaffirm our resolve”.

    The representative of Rotary Club, Rotarian Chika Ekwueme expressed happiness that for five years, Anambra has remained polio-free, which he attributed to the governor’s commitment to the people of the State and lauded the target of 2 million children for immunization during the Prof Amobi Ilika era as commissioner which the incumbent Dr Lawrence Ikeakor continued.

    Development partners, Dr. Rosemary Oyibe and Mr. Diden Gbofeyin who represented WHO and UNICEF respectively harped on the need to stamp out polio in Nigeria. Mr. Gbofeyin avvered that antigens will be used to boost their coverage and urged all stakeholders, community based organizations to make health facilities work while Dr. Rosemary maintained that eradication of polio in Nigeria is synonymous with eradication of polio in the world.

    Immunization of the children by Gov. Peter Obi and his wife, Margaret and distribution of long life insecticide treated net, soaps and biscuits to the parents of the children formed the highlight of the ceremony.

    Some parents, Mary Okoli, Monica Udebalu and Basilia Obiagha thanked the governor for performing the immunization exercise and for the gifts and assured him of their continued support for the polio campaign and prayers in the area.

    At another flag off at Atani, The Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Oseloka Obaze said the exercise should be embraced by all to promote the health of children.

    The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health, Dr. Austin Nnalue commended the mass turn-out by people for the programme and assured that the campaign will be sustained to keep polio away from the State.

    The Transition Committee Chairman, Ogbaru Local Government, Mr. Steve Chukwuma thanked the Governor for his determination to promote the health of  the people.

    Also speaking the Transition Committee Chairman, Ihiala Local Government Area, Mr. Chinedu Ukachukwu noted that the Governor has brought a new dawn in the health sector.

    Mr. Ukachukwu said the well equipped Primary Health Centre in various communities have given people easy access to healthcare facilities.

    Then transition Committee Chairman of Onitsha North, Barr. Egwuoyibo Okoye thanked Gov. Obi, and his wife for their choice of Nnewi South for this month’s flag off of while polio virus in the state. He commended the governor for his massive road construction in the area and assured him that Nnewi South will surely throw their weight behind his anointed candidate come this year’s governorship election in the state.

    These commitments to eliminate polio earned Obi an award as the best performing governor on the eradication of polio in the southeast from Bill Gates and Melinda Foundation at a massively attended ceremony at the Women’s Development Centre in Awka.

    Speaking while presenting the award to Gov Obi which went with a cash prize of N120 million, the minister of state for health, Dr Mohammad Bate said the award was not by chance as Gov Obi had distinguished himself in the health sector which he observed had resulted in the provision of ambulances to hospitals, accreditation of schools of midwifery and the wonderful partnership with the Church and described the Anambra example as a total package, noting that the state had remained polio free in the past five years.

    Responding, Obi thanked the minister for coming to the state to present the award on behalf of Bill Gates and Melinda Foundation and noted with satisfaction that it was not one of the awards anyone could suspect as having been bought and said the state government would match the N120m it received with another N180m which would be ploughed into the building of ten more health centres in the state.

    Recalling some of his strides in the health sector, he cited the state’s first teaching hospital as an example.

    ‘What happened was that the government of the day admitted medical students without a medical school in place and the assessors said they would not accredit the university but I pleaded with them when I came in to give me two or three years to put a teaching hospital in place but they could not believe me as they thought it impossible that a teaching hospital could be built in two, three years. It was one of them that pleaded with them to give me a chance and they did. When they returned at the appointed time they were shocked to see the teaching hospital in place. It has since become the fastest teaching hospital to be built in Nigeria,’ Obi stated to the applause of the packed audience.

    A member of the state legislature Hon Nikky Ugochukwu, congratulated the governor on his award and said it was expected, given his unprecedented achievements in office and also commended him for his youth friendly disposition.

    The two events were attended by top government functionaries, traditional rulers, student nurses and stake holders.

    And Obi announced that his government will use the money it won from being the best State in immunization programme in the South-East to build 10 maternities in remote parts of the State.

    Obi announced it during the flag-off of the National Obstetric Fistula Repair Programme at the Amaku Teaching Hospital, Awka.   He said that the State had matched the 1 million dollars monetary award with 120 Million Naira for the project.

    The Governor also flagged-off the fumigation exercise against mosquitoes in the State.  He said the exercise was part of the State Government programme towards elimination of malaria.  He called on the people of the State to corporate with those carrying out the fumigation exercise since it is for their own good.

    In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of Anambra State University, Prof. Fidelis Okafor thanked the Governor for turning the State University ground.  He invited the people to visit the campus of the University at Igbariam and witness the transformation going on there.

    Already work has commenced the building of 10 maternity projects in 10 rural communities of Anambra State. The project which will cost N30m per one is partly funded by the N150m prize money Anambra State received by coming first in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation award as the best State in the South-East in immunization.   Anambra State Government is providing the rest of the money.

    The benefiting communities are:  Ugwuagba, Umuchu, Awba-Ofemili, Urum, Umueje,Umudioka, Isseke, Azigbo and Umunze.

     

  • Raising the bar of Polio campaign

    Has the fight against polio in Nigeria defied brilliant strategies? I don’t agree. Has the situation gone so wild beyond redemption that we have to accept to live with wild polio virus for the continual destruction of the limbs and lives of our young ones? Never!

    Are there strategies and measures that can make us overcome this monster and free our children from the wrath and fierce indignation of this virus? Yeah; sure. There are methods that we can adopt that those who are not convinced will buy into and have a rethink. This method will arouse our interest and douse the energy of resentments against us. This is what we need to wake our anger and make us defeat polio in Nigeria. Can we eradicate polio by the year 2015? Absolutely possible if we adopt the recommended strategy and take the suitable armour.

    We have spent so much to gain so little. So much energy, so many resources (money included) and regrettably lives have been lost in this struggle and yet little has been achieved. Now, the poser is; why are we here? Why can’t we break this evil chord tying us to this triangular mess and loose our dear country from the comity of Afghanistan and Pakistan? The answer is simple! It is because we don’t want to change strategy. We are addicted to one particular method of campaign; leaders championing the course. This method has proved ineffective in our context as it also failed in many other countries in the past.

    I am not saying that political leaders leading this crusade will always fail. I will be quick to mention former American president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, FDR. Crippled by polio at age 39, FDR became a staunch anti-polio campaigner. His physical status spoke more than mere words can utter. Little wonder he defeated the multifaceted monster when its rage was fiercest. He stopped the death and crippling of children in their thousands in the United State of America.

    What made him so effective and efficient? He had what the people wanted to see and could as a result spoke convincingly about the evils. He had the requisite credentials for the fight because he wore the shoe and knew where it pinched. Do we now have to pray for another exceptional case of polio attack on a political leader for us to eradicate it in Nigeria? God forbid! There is a way out.

    Recently, Bill Gates, the co-founder of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation came to Lagos in company of Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the multi-billionaire businessman. They came to pay a courtesy visit to Babatunde R. Fashola SAN, the governor of Lagos State at the State House Ikeja in recognition of his anti-polio activities. These two financial and economic giants have come to join forces to eradicate polio in Nigeria. And they need see another man with political power and national interest, Governor Fashola, for the success of their mission.

    My recent article, Polio Eradication, Matter of Leadership, I did compare Fashola and FDR. What I failed to mention is that no matter how powerful Fashola may be politically, no matter how passionate he may be about eradicating polio because of his love for the children and their future, he can only mobilise men with requisite credentials for the fight. Even the seemingly formidable team of Dangote Foundation and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will fall before wild polio virus in Nigeria if requisite human resources are not deployed.

    I had written before and mentioned the benefit of polio survivors leading the fight against polio in my past articles published in national dailies and widely circulated on the internet. When I did, I was not actually emphasising that I must be included. I am only convinced that when they do with all passion, the result will be visible to all. I can testify to this. I had won co-passengers inside bus when I saw them with babies. I have been able to convince many of my neighbours not only to accept our vaccine but also made them advocates of this crusade. India also had Gautam Lewis at the vanguard of this in India, and you know the result today, India is free. Beyond “seeing is believing”, a polio survivor has a story to tell and can tell his or her story with all passion and conviction. And if you love your child, you want to buy his/her story and possibly support the crusade.

    In August 2009, Nigeria witnessed an unprecedented match against polio in the country. That was when we had the National Stakeholders’ Forum on Polio Eradication in Nigeria. This forum, at the instance of Governor Fashola was observed nationally at various dates in that month. In Lagos and many other states, it was on August 8, 2009. This marked significant reduction in the number of cases we have been having annually. But polio is still with us. To make a total riddance of this problem, he has suggested that we raise the bar of polio campaign. Fashola said, “…that is one thing that I wish to work with you (referring to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) and the Dangote Foundation to look at how many polio survivors that are here and let them lead the campaign as a physical demonstration of what can and what could have been, in addition, of course, to doing all of the things that we really need to do”.

    This is raising the bar of Polio campaign in Nigeria. Let political differences and ideologies, ethnic sentiments and religious extremism be subdued, if only briefly, for the health of Nigerian children and unanimously take this counsel and appoint polio survivors to lead this crusade while our political leaders and global partners provide the needed support. If we do this, I am very sure; this will be the last stage of the fight. And it will not be long, we will gather, as a people, to celebrate one year in mind of the last polio virus.

    • Olugbenga, a polio survivor and Lagos Polio Ambassador writes from Lagos.

  • Combating polio in Kaduna

    Combating polio in Kaduna

    AISHA got the virus when she was just two. Now at three, she cannot walk normally. The wild polio virus left not just the girl in agony; her parents are also devastated. For they had hoped she would bring them out of poverty when she got older and brgan to make money.

    Aisha’s parents were apparently among parents who resisted the polio immunisation programme, believing that it was aimed at controlling the number of children one gives birth to. Muhammad Bello, Aisha’s grandfather was quoted as saying that before she got the virus, they never felt any need to take their children for routine immunization, but today, Bello has seen the need after his grandchild got knocked down by the virus. He said “we never felt the need to get our children immunized, but now, I will do my best to mobilize our community”. Her mother, Zainabu was also quoted as saying that “I do not really understand what happened. Aisha felt sick for weeks and got a high fever. Her legs have now started to get very weak and she has a hard time trying to stand up. The doctor said it was too late, she may get polio, but we needed to confirm. In the past, we always refused vaccination because some of our neighbours told us the oral polio vaccine could cause sterility. Now, we know that it is not true and we can see the consequences. From now on, I will commit myself to be part of the social mobilization team”. That was in May 2012 and two weeks later, the little girl was confirmed to be infested by the virus, thus becoming one of the 30 polio cases in Sokoto state as at May, 2012.

    Today Aisha has joined the growing list of persons affected by the virus in a country regarded as one of the most entrenched reservoirs of wild poliovirus in the world. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nigeria is the only country with ongoing transmission of all three serotypes of polio virus such as wild poliovirus type 1, wild poliovirus type 3, and circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2. Interestingly, states in the northern part of the country are the main source of polio infections elsewhere in Nigeria and in neighbouring countries. For example, Nigeria or northern Nigeria is reported by international organisations as being the main source of polio in countries like Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Uganda, Kenya and other countries stretching from West to Central Africa and Horn of Africa. These countries have been classified as importation countries because they have stopped the transmission of indigenous wild poliovirus can be affected by importations of the virus. In addition, Nigeria is one of the three countries globally still considered as polio endemic nations, the others being Pakistan and Afghanistan. Incidentally, while Afghanistan and Pakistan are neigbours, Nigeria’s immediate neigbours have all eradicated cases of polio. Fresh cases of the disease in these countries have always been traced to states in northern Nigeria. But many states in the north have embraced polio, but it is generally agreed that a lot still need to be done if the disease is to be eradicated in the country. It is believed that the country is presently on the right track to stop fresh transmission of cases. But one thing that has been of concern to health workers and Nigerians is the fact that the same set of people seems to be immunized regularly, while several areas are ignored. So far, the country has recorded 52% drop in polio cases, 63% reduction in vaccine rejection while the number of states with ongoing circulation of the virus has reduced from 11 during the same time last year to nine. As at the last count, Borno, Yobe and Kano account for 72% of all polio cases in Nigeria so far this year while 3 percent of local government areas in the country  have recorded polio virus so far this year. Similarly, there has been a reduction of the polio genetic clusters in Nigeria from 8 to 2 while no Wild Polio Virus Type 3 case has been detected in Nigeria so far this year, last case 11 months ago.

    Be that as it may, The Nation gathered however that in some of the states of the north, principal officers of government and even key health officials have shown dislike for the polio eradication initiative. The Nation was told that in one of the states, the Director incharge of Primary health care is not positively disposed to the polio eradication initiative, while in another, the Secretary to Government is against the idea. It was also gathered that in some of the local government, refrigerators meant for the storage of the polio vaccine are taken away by highly placed local government officials. Available information had it that due top efforts of the state government, Kaduna recorded no case of polio for 30 months beginning from 2009 and when the government was beginning to beat its chest that the state was polio free, 10 new cases were reported in the state in 2012. Some officials of the state health ministry said that those fresh cases were traced to Zamfara state. But other believed that the set back was as a result of some children that were missed during the immunization exercise. But since the beginning of 2013, the state according to the officials has not recorded any case of polio. The state government has said it was determined to ensure that state is polio fr4ee and has deplored all machineries to ensuring success. This explain why the Deputy Governor, Ambassador Nuhu Bajoga had to abandon the comfort of his office in July to go in search of two children who reported missed out in the polio immunization exercise in Zangon Kataf local government area of the state and ensure that they were administered with the vaccination. James Swam Kazzah, Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor said that idea behind that visit was to determine whether the two children in the community who ‘missed out’ during the earlier immunization exercise had been recovered and rightly immunized to forestall any emergence of the dreaded polio virus in not only the local government but the entire state. He noted that like the Biblical analogy of leaving behind 99 sheep to search for one missing sheep, Ambassador Nuhu Bajoga left his comfort zone to trek long distance through bushy farmlands and muddy footpath to identify these two children for the sake of polio eradication in Kaduna state.

    Late Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa had, while launching the first quarter polio immunization in 2012 said that “If Nigeria is to join the rest of the world in becoming polio-free, we all must allow our children to be vaccinated, and the responsibility of such task, to a greater extend, rest on the shoulders of our Local Government chairmen, traditional and religious leaders. As such I am calling on all the Interim Local Government Chairmen, traditional and religious leaders, to have a stronger engagement with stakeholders through increased commitment and accountability to the fight against polio. I have also directed all Commissioners and Permanent Secretaries to henceforth join hands with their respective Local Government Chairmen in ensuring the success of vaccination campaigns”. This tends to have yielded result as no incident has been reported across the state in 2013. The government under Yakowa initiated an award for the best local government in polio eradication. The government, Yakowa had said “has made polio eradication initiative a top priority in the health sector”, adding that “in our fight against this disabling disease, the Kaduna State Government had spent huge resources in 2011 in the area of immunization, advocacy and control of the polio menace, with a view to retaining the polio-free status of the state. We are also committed to sustaining the state Task Force on Immunization meetings in order to ensure coordination of the polio eradication initiative. I have also directed all the Local Government Councils in the State to ensure regular meetings of the Local Government Task Force on Immunization and engagement of stakeholders, especially traditional and religious leaders in the campaign against polio in their respective areas. It is the combination of these efforts that made Kaduna State polio-free since 2009. The success achieved was a result of the commitment made, by both the Government and also by other stakeholders in the state, particularly our traditional and religious leaders. “In order to ensure that Kaduna State continues to be polio-free this year and beyond, the Kaduna State government has decided to identify and honour people who have positively influenced and advanced the polio eradication initiative in their respective domains. I will like to draw your attention to the fact that even though we have been free from polio since 2009, the fight against polio in Kaduna State is not yet over. This is because Kaduna State is surrounded by polio infected states. I have also been informed that there are still some children that have missed the routine polio immunization administered by both parents and caregivers. I therefore wish to charge those that are going to be decorated today as Polio Ambassadors to continue to support the polio eradication initiative in their respective constituencies, so that Kaduna State continuously remains a polio-free State and even assist in the eradication of polio in our neighbouring state”.

     

     

     

    The world Health Organisation however believes that with concerted efforts by government and other stakeholders, Nigeria has the capacity to eradicate polio within nine months. WHO Country Director in Nigeria, Dr. David Okelo, was once quoted as saying that, “Nigeria has made a lot of progress in the fight against polio; we have done 95 percent of the work due to the efforts of traditional and religious leaders. We have just a fraction left so let us finish the job as quickly as possible. “Government should mobilize communities and leaders to finish the remaining part in the next six to nine months. We need to finish polio and move on to other problems such as cholera, high maternal mortality and other child killer diseases. We can do it and we should do it.”  Many believe that the governors of the north have not shown serious commitment to the polio eradication campaign. But at one of the meeting of the Northern States Governors Forum, they resolved to strengthen the state task force on polio eradication in each of the states by making it more functional; sustain the quarterly interaction of governors with their traditional rulers and to prevail on Local Government Chairmen in the Northern States to continue to support Polio Programmes particularly through sustained enlightenment campaigns. Interestingly however, apart from the regularly National Immunisation Day exercises, there is little being done by the various states to ensure acceptability of the vaccine as fresh polio cases have been reported in a few states.

    Even though there are few countries where people still carry the disease and in Nigeria where vaccine rejection has become common, there is still a global fight against the disease. As part of the global campaign, hundreds of scientists, doctors and other experts from around the world in May, 2013 launched the Scientific Declaration on Polio Eradication declaring that an end to the paralyzing disease is achievable and endorsing a comprehensive new strategy to secure a lasting polio-free world by 2018. At the launch, over 400 signatories urged governments, international organisations and civil society groups around the world to do their part and put an end to polio.

     

     

    with the aim to protecting the world’s most vulnerable children and future generations from this preventable disease. They also call for full funding and implementation of the Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018, developed by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). However with polio cases at an all-time low and the disease remaining endemic in just three countries around the world, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative had estimated that ending the disease by 2018 can be achieved for a cost of approximately $5.5 billion. Dr. Walter Orenstein, professor and associate director of the Emory Vaccine Center at Emory University and former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Immunization Program was quoted as saying that “we have the tools we need and a time-limited opening to defeat polio. The GPEI plan is the comprehensive roadmap that, if followed, will get us there”. On his part, Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta, founding director of the Center of Excellence in Women and Child Health at Aga Khan University ad one of the doctors that has signed a declaration calling for the eradication of Polio by 2018 globally noted that “securing a lasting polio-free world goes hand in hand with strengthening routine immunization. We need all countries to prioritize investments in routine immunization”.

    The declaration, part of which The Nation obtained online, emphasizes that achieving polio eradication requires efforts interrelated with strengthening routine immunization which is a new focus of the GPEI plan, pointing out that as the last cases of polio are contained, high levels of routine immunization will be critical. In the same vein, it noted that resources and learning from polio eradication efforts can be used to strengthen coverage of other life-saving vaccines, including for children who have never been reached with any health interventions before. Professor Helen Rees, executive director of the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, who signed the declaration believe that as long as polio exists anywhere in the world, it threatens children everywhere. According to him, “by pursuing in parallel all of the steps needed to reach eradication, including the introduction of inactivated vaccines, countries have a complete path to eliminate polio’s threat.”

    Investigations revealed that those who signed the declaration were drawn from 80 countries and is being promoted by more than 40 leading universities and schools of public health and medicine are promoting the declaration on their websites, including that of Nigeria’s Redeemer’s University. As at the time the declaration was signed in May, 2013, only 16 cases of polio had been reported globally with India, long-regarded as the most difficult place to eliminate polio, said not to have recorded a case in more than two years. This perhaps explains why Dr. David Heymann, head and senior fellow at the Chatham House Centre on Global Health Security and a signatory of the declaration believe that “eradicating polio is no longer a question of technical or scientific feasibility. Rather, getting the most effective vaccines to children at risk requires stronger political and societal commitment. Eliminating the last one percent of polio cases is an immense challenge, as is the eradication endgame after that. But by working together we can make history and leave the legacy of a polio-free world for future generations.”

    However, polio survivors in Nigeria have joined the campaign against the virus. Karima Usman, a 38-year-old Nigerian mother of three, is one of such people who has decided to take up the task of convincing parents take their children for vaccination against polio.  According to her, “no one used to go from house to house giving OPV [oral polio vaccine] when I was small. That is why I got polio. Now, OPV is available – but some parents are not letting their children take it.I got involved in this work three months ago and I will not rest till every parent agrees to get their child vaccinated. Most people get convinced easily when they see my condition and realize what poliovirus can do. But then there are some who are totally non-compliant due to spread of misinformation and myths and don’t even come to the door to talk to me. I don’t give up. I get off my tricycle and walk on my hands and go inside their houses to talk to them.”

    Like Ms Usman, Auwal Bawa, Captain of the Katsina state Para-soccer team is another polio survivor who has d4ecided that it was time to join the campaign for the eradication of polio in Katsina state and in Nigeria. According to him, “I tell people that my ability lies in my mind. And it is the mind that they need to listen to and accept OPV and not false rumours”. Melisa Corkum of the UNICEF communication office in Nigeria said that “Polio survivors are recording a success rate of 70 per cent on an average over the last three polio immunization rounds. In other words, they are able to convince seven out of every 10 parents to accept OPV for their children which are remarkable. As the number of cases of polio has decreased over the years, the PSGs serve as a stark reminder of what the virus can do – and help in overcoming non-compliance.” In Sokoto, there is Fatima Aliyu, a mother of two and a polio survivor who has also joined in the campaign to ensure that every child in Sokoto is immunized. It is imperative to say that Sokoto is one of the states in the country struggling with non-compliance. In her words, “I call all men to support their wives to bring out their children for immunization. Would we have come out to support this programme if the vaccine had any side effects?”

     

  • Gates, Dangote raise fund to end polio in Nigeria

    Nigeria is being positioned to eradicate polio next year ahead of, the 2018 deadline by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

    Computer magnate, Bill Gates and formost industralist Aliko Dangote gave this assurance in Lagos in a report of how their collaboration through Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Dangote Foundation had helped polio eradication in the country.

    According to them, total number of polio cases was 112 last year but had dropped to just 51 cases as at this year. “This is through aggressive campaigns, moving from state to state and local government to local government in Nigeria; paying vaccinators to move around and reach kids. Traditional leaders have been fantastic by getting people out to participate in the immunisation exercise.

    “We are rest assured that the battle against polio in the county will be won. Next year we will be celebrating total elimination of polio. Though rejection of the vaccine is a challenge and not the biggest challenge, we are concerned about the virus and how to exterminate same from Nigeria. We are happy to note that Type 3 is no more in Nigeria and Type 1 will be exterminated finally,” they said.

    Dangote said: “My Foundation will be 20 years old next year. It was registered in 1993 but commenced operation in 1994. We are planning to do a big endowment on Education; Health and national relief. We are set to go round the country and not just a locality so many can benefit through the foundation.

    “The Foundation was conceived during the structural adjustment programme (SAP) when many were complaining of the economy problem my business was recording huge successes. I was touched.  So I was inspired to start the Foundation so others can benefit.”

    Gates said he is happy that Nigeria is steadily winning the war against polio. “Many things are happening in Nigeria positively and Dangote is one of such. I and Alhaji Dangote have put together the sum of $6billion to purchase vaccines in a bid to eradicate polio from Nigeria, nay Africa. It would be a wonderful idea to eradicate polio from the whole world,” he said.

  • We won’t hand over polio in 2015, says Jonathan

    We won’t hand over polio in 2015, says Jonathan

    Tambuwal promises judicious use of $50m JICA loan

    President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday promised that his administration will not hand over polio to the next government in 2015.

    Jonathan spoke in Abuja at a forum of the Presidential Task Force on Polio Eradication, organised by the Federal Ministry of Health, at the Banquet Hall of the State House.

    At the forum, some governors were given awards for eradicating polio in their states.

    Awards were given for last year’s Best Performing States in each of the six zones.

    The winners are: Ondo State (Southwest), Cross River (Southsouth), Kogi (Northcentral), Anambra (Southeast), Borno (Northeast) and Zamfara (Northwest).

    Niger State won the award for the most improved state.

    Jonathan announced a national honour for the Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr Bill Gates.

    He hailed Gates for his commitment to rid Africa of health challenges.

    The President noted that besides helping Nigeria to fight polio and providing life-saving tools, Gates also assisted the country’s agriculture.

    He also hailed the President of Dangote Foundation, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, for supporting the government in all sectors.

    Jonathan thanked the traditional rulers for their roles in fighting polio.

    He said: “For those who have won this award, the challenge is that we will not want to see polio in your state again. Otherwise, we will wipe out the award. You now have very strong partners, a partner with the Federal Government to eradicate polio.

    “Like Dangote mentioned, there is no reason we should not eradicate polio by 2014. Let me assure you that the Federal Government is totally committed to eradicating polio. We promise that we will work hard because we don’t want to hand over polio to another government in 2015. With the support of all stakeholders present here, I believe we will succeed in our commitment to eradicate polio.

    “I charge you all to be so committed, especially as the elections are coming. In fact, from the analysis I was just briefed now, I’m really surprised that in 2011 there was a lapse and it was attributed to the elections. I learnt that during campaigns for elections, politicians think more about winning the elections and forget about other things…”

    Announcing the honours for Bill Gates, Jonathan said: “As the President and Commander-In-Chief, I hereby confer on Bill Gates one of our prestigious titles, the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR). His decoration will come up during the award ceremony in December.”

    House of Representatives Sepaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has assured Gates and Dangote that the $50 million JICA loan for Nigeria’s fight against polio would be well utilised.

    Gates told Tambuwal during a visit yesterday that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Dangote Group, in conjunction with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), initiated a new $50 million loan conversion mechanism, called the JICA loan conversion, for Nigeria.

  • ‘Polio eradication not yet 100%’

    Though there has been improvement in polio eradication in Nigeria, the country is not yet free from the disease.

    According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the yearly number of polio cases recorded worldwide fell by 99 per cent between 1988 and 2000, when the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) was established. However, tackling the last one per cent has been difficult.

    Although the number of countries where polio was endemic fell after the launch of the GPEI, from at least 125 in 1988 to 20 in 2000, progress in eradicating the disease has since slowed down. In 2006 polio was still endemic in Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. Last year, only India was declared polio-free. In the last few years, travellers from the few countries where polio remains endemic have carried polio virus into countries that are polio-free.

    According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), though Nigeria is on the right track to stop polio, three states – Borno, Yobe and Kano – account for 72 per cent of cases; and the number of states with ongoing circulation of the virus fell from 11 during the same period last year to nine. Nigeria has recorded 52 per cent drop in polio cases and 63 per cent reduction in vaccine rejection.

    It said about three per cent of the local government areas were infected with polio virus so far this year,  no Wild Polio Virus Type 3 case has been detected in Nigeria so far this year. The last case  reported was 11 months ago and  the circulating polio genetic clusters has reduced from eight to two.

    Despite these efforts, insecurity and misconception of the vaccine, in the upper region of the country are the major challenges militating against eradication of Polio in Nigeria.

  • ‘Polio eradication not yet 100%’

    Though there has been improvement in polio eradication in Nigeria, the country is not yet free from the disease.

    According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the yearly number of polio cases recorded worldwide fell by 99 per cent between 1988 and 2000, when the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) was established. However, tackling the last one per cent has been difficult.

    Although the number of countries where polio was endemic fell rapidly after the launch of the GPEI, from at least 125 in 1988 to 20 in 2000, progress in eradicating polio has since slowed. In 2006 polio was still endemic in Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. By last year, only India has been declared polio-free. In the last few years, travellers from the few countries where polio remains endemic have carried polio virus into countries that are polio-free.

    According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), though Nigeria is on the right track to stop the spread of polio, three states – Borno, Yobe and Kano – account for 72 per cent of polio cases in Nigeria; and the number of states with ongoing circulation of the virus is down from 11 during the same period last year to nine. Nigeria has recorded 52 per cent drop in polio cases and 63 per cent reduction in vaccine rejection.

    It said about three per cent of local government areas in Nigeria are infected with polio virus so far this year,  no Wild Polio Virus Type 3 case has been detected in Nigeria so far this year. The last case  reported was 11 months ago and  the circulating polio genetic clusters has reduced from eight to two.

    Despite these efforts, insecurity and misconception of the vaccine, in the upper region of the country are the major challenges militating against eradication of Polio in Nigeria.

  • Rotary, Gates to raise $35m for polio

    In its quest to step up efforts towards eradication of polio worldwide, Rotary International and its partners including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation hope to raise up to US$35 million per year through 2018. This initiative, the partners believe, is to build public support for the historic final push now underway to wipe out this disabling viral disease once and for all.

    In Chicago, where the humanitarian service organisation was founded in 1905, Rotary and Northwestern University’s Center for Global Health will convene an international panel of experts to discuss the progress of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which Rotary co-launched in 1988. The event, ‘World Polio Day: Making History’ was streamed live to a global online audience at endpolionow.org from Northwestern University’s John Hughes Auditorium, 303 E. Superior St., Chicago, beginning at 5:30 p.m. CST last Thursday.

    Rotary clubs in Lagos, Nigeria, under the leadership of PDG (Dr) Tunji Funsho, Chairman Nigeria National Polio Plus Committee, partnered with the Cycology Riding Club of Nigeria to do a six-hour relay bicycle ride penultimate Saturday to promote World Polio Day and the national immunization rounds set for early November.

  • Funke Akindele begins race for Polio

    It was a fun ride for Nollywood actress Funke Akindele, who, at the weekend, took delivery of a bicycle, worth about N500, 000. The bike was a gift from the Rotary Club International, which few weeks ago, announced the actress as the latest face in their campaign on Polio eradication.

    Jenifa, as she is fondly called, rode a bike for five kilometers. It was the second time she would ride in her life; the first being three years ago, on a movie set, she recalled.

    Beyond the fun, the thespian noted that she felt fulfilled to be giving back to the society in form of the campaign, saying: “I hopeful that polio will end finally.”

    The endorsement is charity based, and Akindele is expected by her role, to go from town to town, helping Rotary achieve its goal of a polio-free world in a new public awareness campaign tagged ‘This Close’.  Part of the campaign will go on billboard, where the actress will be seen raising her thumb and forefinger to illustrate the ‘This Close’ crusade in the ad tagline that says, “We are this close to ending polio.”

    “I feel so honored to be part of a charitable cause like this. I accepted this appointment because polio kills or paralyses children, and Rotary is committed to ending this terrible disease worldwide. I also learned that the world has never been so close to eradication of polio since the mid 80’s thanks to the vigorous efforts of Rotary International and its partners,” she said.

    Other notable persons who are noted for the Polio campaign include: Computer icon Bill Gates, Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, action movie star Jackie Chan, Pop star PSY, Northern Nigerian singer Dan Maraya Jos and Hausa language film star Sanni Danjer.

    However, like the mantra of ‘using one stone to kill two birds, the actress believes that the bike will also enhance her physical fitness, as she embarks on regular exercise.