Polio spread drops by 80 per cent in 2009, says WHO
By Chukwuma Muanya
THE number of children in the high risk states in Nigeria who have been paralysed by the wild polio virus in 2009 has declined by over 80 per cent as compared to the same period in 2008, according to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Country Representative in Nigeria, Dr. Peter Eriki.
Also, the second round of the regional synchronised immunisation campaign involving Nigeria, Benin, Niger, Togo, Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire, kicked off on March 28, 2009.
The exercise, which will end tomorrow, according to officials, is to consolidate on the first synchronised round held from February 28 to March 3, 2009 during which government officials, partners and stakeholders from various countries rallied to ensure the vaccination of eligible children at the border and other areas.
At the presidential kick-off of the March 2009 Immunisation Plus Days (IPDs) Campaign at the Maitama Hospital in Abuja, Eriki described the feat as very significant. He said the WPV1 caused more paralysis than other forms of wild poliovirus and spread more rapidly.
"There is early evidence of improving quality of coverage of immunisation campaigns particularly in the highest risk states. The proportion of un-immunised and under- immunised children in some of the highest risk states is declining," he said.
Eriki, however, sounded a note of caution about the renewed immunisation efforts in the country: "Although the evidence so far is promising, the renewed efforts to improve immunisation coverage needs to be further intensified and sustained, if the goal of stopping transmission is to be achieved."
He suggested that every effort should be made to ensure that the renewed political commitment was translated into improved quality of immunisation, particularly at the community and settlement level where the interaction between parents and service providers takes place. Eriki spoke on behalf of development partners working in the area of health in Nigeria.
The immunisation was kicked off by Vice President Goodluck Jonathan. Others present were Health Ministers, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin and Dr. Aliyu Idi Hong and the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Senator Adamu Aliero.
Eriki commended the strong commitment of the Nigerian government, especially with the new leadership at the Federal Ministry of Health and the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency.
He reaffirmed the full commitment of the development partners to stand by the government and people of Nigeria in the area of eradicating polio, which he aptly described as 'historic.'
Minister of Health, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin, assured all concerned that the government and people of Nigeria were determined more than ever before, to make sacrifices to rid the society of the paralysing effects of poliomyelitis and other childhood killer diseases. He said the gains made in the 2008 Integrated Measles Campaign and the efforts to contain the recent outbreaks of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM) and Lassa fever were testimonies to the Federal Government's resolve.
In 2008, the WHO reported a nine-fold increase in new cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) compared with the same period in 2007. This outbreak in northern Nigeria caused major international outbreaks, as occurred in 2003-2006. Also, Nigeria, last year, accounted for 86 per cent of WPV1 cases in the world.
