Featured, Health
For the second time in less than two decades, Nigeria has been declared polio-free. But the raging spate of insecurity nationwide and the resultant displacement of thousands of Nigerians may see the country sliding back to the league of polio-endemic countries
By Goddy Ikeh
THE World Health Organisation, WHO, on June 18, 2020, announced that Nigeria’s complete documentation for Wild Polio Virus-free status was accepted by the Africa Regional Certification Commission for polio eradication, ARCC.
For the ordinary Nigerian, this polio-free declaration means the country’s street will soon be free of persons crippled by this wild paralyzing virus, which has been increasing the number of persons living with disabilities in the country.
But the June 18 declaration of Nigeria as Wild Polio Virus-free nation did not receive the expected media attention due mainly to the fact that the news broke at a time the country was still struggling to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus, the worrisome insecurity situation nationwide and the increasing incidence of rapes and kidnapping in the country.
Another reason for low media attention to the declaration by the WHO was the fact that Nigeria could not sustain its two-year polio-free status since the country’s removal from the list of polio-endemic countries on September 25, 2015, by the WHO. That important milestone was received with cautious optimism by the global community that ending polio in Nigeria and the whole African region was achievable.
It will be recalled that by 2012, Nigeria accounted for more than half of all polio cases worldwide. But with the concerted efforts by all levels of government, civil society organisations and tens of thousands of dedicated health workers, Nigeria was able to successfully stop polio in its tracks. According to available health records, more than 200,000 volunteers across the country repeatedly immunized more than 45 million children under the age of five years, to ensure that no child suffered from this paralyzing disease.
However, the last confirmed polio case, Isah Ahmadu, was reported from Sumaila local government area of Kano State with a 24 July, 2014 date of onset of paralysis. But in 2016, Nigeria experienced a setback in the fight against the Polio Virus when, after two years without a case, another outbreak occurred. With the discovery of this new case, Nigeria will at least stay one more year without a case of wild poliovirus in order for Nigeria and consequently the WHO African region to be certified polio-free.
However, the 32nd meeting of the Expert Review Committee, ERC, on Polio Eradication and Routine Immunization in Abuja in June 2016, recommended investing in strengthening routine immunization as the overarching priority of the government and partners in order to sustain the gains of the polio eradication programme and protect children against other vaccine-preventable diseases that no child is left vulnerable and without adequate immunization. And following the meeting with the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the Federal Ministries of Health, and Information and Culture to reinvigorate their strategies in concert with state governments in order to galvanize lasting support needed to sustain Nigeria’s polio-free status and ensure that Nigeria is finally certified polio-free by 2017. ‘‘We have not recorded any case of polio in the last two years but we should not be complacent,” Buhari said.
According to Buhari, the celebration of two years without a case of wild polio in Nigeria will continue to constitute a call to action to maintain momentum and ensure a polio-free Nigeria. This is imperative, with the entire African region drawing closer to possibly being certified polio-free in 2017. Ending polio in Nigeria will be a victory for the country and for children everywhere. But this declaration did not happen until June this year.
The news was therefore a welcome delight for President Buhari, who on Sunday, June 21, 2020 congratulated the entire country for the declaration by the WHO that the country is free from the Wild Polio Virus.
Buhari, who had nothing tangible internationally to celebrate recently except for the catalogue of protests and complaints of insecurity, rapes and kidnapping and the ravaging effects of Covid-19, declared that it was a historic achievement after the WHO declared Nigeria free of Wild Polio Virus. However, since then, Nigeria has not had a single case of Polio Virus, necessitating the, WHO, to declare the country polio-free.
Sharing the exciting news on Twitter, Buhari first congratulated Nigerians, then proceeded to thank the multiple partners that made the effort a success. “I congratulate all Nigerians as our country attains this historic status of being free from the Wild Polio Virus. So many partners, local and international, have contributed tirelessly to this feat — we are deeply grateful to each and every one of you.
“This achievement reflects the resilient spirit of Nigerians, in particular the strength and capacity of our health workers, who drew resources and support from multiple sectors to deal a final blow to the Wild Polio Virus.
“This achievement is not only one of the great successes of this generation of Nigerians, but also one of the obvious dividends of this administration, which is consistent with our progressive investment in the health of our people since 2015.
“This landmark achievement is also a promise kept to all Nigerians. As you will recall, in August 2015, barely three months after we assumed office, I promised Nigerians that: “My government shall provide the necessary resources and commitment required to strengthen the health system, routine immunization and ensure the country is certified Polio-free.
“When, in 2016, Nigeria suffered a major setback with the outbreak of the Wild Polio Virus in Borno State, after about 2 years without any case, I directed the immediate release of N9.8 billion to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, to contain the outbreak.
“Subsequently, we have been meeting all our financial obligations to bilateral and multilateral agreements, and have also provided the moral support and leadership required at all levels to motivate the men and women in the frontline of polio eradication in Nigeria.
“In addition, we sincerely appreciate our donors and development partners who stood by the country during those trying times.
“This achievement of polio-free status is a hard-won battle spanning over three decades of hard work and dedication by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, GPEI, the Federal, States and Local Governments, polio eradication teams at all levels, our donors and development partners, both local and international.
“As we recall, the polio eradication structures were used when Nigeria successfully eradicated Ebola Virus Disease within the shortest possible time in 2014.
“I am glad that these same human, material and technological resources have been deployed to steadily increase Routine Immunization coverage and are being organized to implement the fight against community transmission of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This big battle would not have been won without the support of our donors and development partners including Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Aliko Dangote Foundation, Rotary International, United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, USAID, Sir Emeka Offor Foundation, Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA, European Union, Global Health Canada, German Development Bank, KfW, WHO, UNICEF, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Polio Survivors Group, the media, and faith-based and other non-governmental organizations.
“Let me also acknowledge the immense contribution of traditional and religious leaders who mobilized communities to accept the immunization programme and other government programmes.
“The final theatre of the polio eradication fight was particularly championed by the Northern Traditional Leaders Committee on Polio Eradication and Primary Health Care, NTLC, under the guidance of His Highness, Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Saad Abubakar, and the strategic leadership of the late Shehu of Bama, Kyari Ibn Umar El-Kanemi. We thank you all for the leadership and partnership over the years. This victory is for us all, and for future generations of Nigerians,” he added.
Buhari did not stop there. On Friday, July 3, 2020, he wrote world leaders and partners to appreciate their support towards helping Nigeria attain a Wild Polio Virus (WPV) free status, pledging that his administration would sustain the momentum and strengthen the primary health care system.
A statement by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, said President Buhari also commended Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Chairman Presidential Taskforce on Polio Eradication, and his team, for making Nigeria proud and saving her children from the scourge of poliomyelitis. ‘‘This is to express our profound appreciation for your leadership of the Presidential Taskforce on Polio Eradication and Routine Immunization.
‘‘The declaration of Nigeria as a Wild Polio free country is the result of your effective coordination of the Nigerian Polio eradication program through the Presidential Taskforce on Polio Eradication and Routine Immunization, Federal Ministry of Health and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency.
‘‘Please extend my personal appreciation to all members of the Presidential Taskforce on Polio Eradication for making Nigeria proud and saving her children from the scourge of Poliomyelitis. I urge the Taskforce under your leadership to sustain this coordination especially in mobilizing State Governors to provide the needed oversight and resources to sustain the momentum and strengthen the primary health care system by improving routine immunization, maternal, newborn and child health services.
‘‘I urge you to sustain the momentum as I look forward to us leveraging on the polio infrastructure and experience to drive other health interventions,’’ the President wrote in the letter to Prof. Osinbajo,” he said.
According to Shehu, Buhari also wrote a separate letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, thanking the European country for decades of financial support to Polio Eradication Initiative, PEI, programme in Nigeria through KfW.
‘‘Please be assured that my Government will remain committed and focused to ensuring the needed resources will be provided to sustain the momentum and strengthen the primary health care system of our great Country,’’ the President said in his letter to Chancellor Merkel. President Buhari also thanked traditional and religious leaders, who through their leadership built community trust for the polio programme thereby increasing acceptance and ensuring all eligible children are reached with the polio vaccine.
Specifically, Buhari wrote Muhammad Saad III, Sultan of Sokoto, the leadership of Jama’atul-Nasirl Islam, JNI, and the President, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN. The President also wrote separate letters of appreciation to Bill Gates, the European Union, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO, Robert R. Redfield, Director, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Henrietta Fore, Executive Director, United Nations Children’s Fund, David Malpass, President, World Bank Group and John Barsa, Acting Administrator, United States Agency for International Development.
Others are, Global Affairs Canada, Professor Shinichi Kitaoka, President, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the International President, Rotary International. Buhari also appreciated the support of Aliko Dangote, Chairman Aliko Dangote Foundation, Emeka Offor and Governor Kayode Fayemi, in his capacity as the Chairman, Nigerian Governors Forum.
Obviously, the road to achieving the current polio-free status has been rough for the country. For instance, a renowned Virologist and Chair of Nigeria Expert Review Committee on Poliomyelitis Eradication and
Routine Immunisation, Prof. Oyewole Tomori, observed that the theme for the 1995 World Health Day, on April 7, 1995, was “Target 2000 — A World Without Polio”. But 25 years after, Nigeria is still battling to surmount the obstacles militating against eradicating polio in the country.
Local media reports quoted Tomori as saying that Nigeria’s race to polio eradication has been a long and slow obstacle race, a tortoise walk hampered by at least four self-inflicted obstacles. The first is that Nigeria’s immunisation framework was erected on the sandy foundation of low coverage, a rickety edifice built with massive under-funding, uncaring attitude, casual neglect and careless abandon. The second is that Nigeria began serious polio eradication activities very late —almost 20 years after the initial World Health Assembly, WHA, resolution, calling for the global eradication of polio, and about 5 years to the initial eradication target of the year 2000. Third, some 16 years ago, precisely in 2003, we got diverted by the polio vaccine boycott, which lasted for a little over a year, with far reaching and devastating consequences. Fourth and finally, the Boko Haram insurgency became the Achilles’ heel in Nigeria’s long and delayed finish of the polio eradication race. These intimidating challenges listed by Prof. Tomori, clearly show why Nigeria for decades was listed among the worst hit countries by polio globally.
But Babatunde Salako, director-general of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, NIMR, believes that with sustained efforts, the country will maintain the polio-free status. Salako told the News Agency of Nigerian, NAB, in an interview on Friday, July 4 that the country should not relent in its efforts to sustain its polio-free status. ”Whatever we have been doing that brought us here, we should continue to do.”
Salako said: “Whatever we have been doing that brought us here, we should continue to do.” He commended the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, NPHCDA, which is in charge of the efforts to eradicate polio in the country for doing a lot in its mandate area.
“They have been creating significant awareness at the grassroots in terms of Polio immunisation and they concentrated more in areas where Poliovirus were largely discovered at the time.
“All this effort should be sustained and if they are able to do that, we will continue to be polio-free,” he said, adding that the necessary resources needed to maintain the polio-free status should be made available to the relevant bodies to carry out their duties effectively.
But the big question is how far can Nigeria effectively sustain this new status with the battle against Boko Haram still raging and the deadly activities of bandits in northern states, who contribute to the displacement of thousands of Nigerians. These security issues pose serious challenges to the immunization programme of the government.
– Jul. 6, 2020 @ 11:07 GMT |
Tags: Nigeria’s slow waltz to polio-free nation
