Over 270m doses Of polio vaccines administered in Nigeria yearly –WHO

 

. New variants of polio, caused by COVID-19, insecurity, says FG

 

 

BY AKOR SYLVESTER-Abuja

 

As Nigeria continue to celebrate its victory over Wild Polio Virus (WPV) the World Health Organisation (WHO) has hinted that each year over 270 million doses of polio vaccines were administered in the country.

 

The WHO country Representative, Walter Kazadi Mulombo who stated this at the Commemoration of 3rd Anniversary of Wild Polio virus Eradication in Nigeria yesterday, said greater investments and efforts were made to reach vulnerable populations such as the nomads, non-complaints, hard-to-reach populations, riverine populations, and those in areas affected by conflicts.

 

He maintained that Nigeria became the template for the Global Polio Programme for innovations, best

practices and demonstration of leadership and ownership at national and subnational levels.

 

According to the WHO boss, this was achieved through the Accountability Framework, while urging the country to sustain the feat achieved on polio.

 

He said, “in recognition of this, the Regional Director in April 2022, issued three awards of excellence to Nigeria, for the implementation of the Auto-visual Acute Flaccid Paralysis Detection and Reporting (AVADAR) that brought communities close to detection and reporting of AFP Case”.

 

He commended the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) Faisal Shuaib’s

conception of AVADAR and its role out globally, saying “I am aware this innovation is being

expanded to improve on community surveillance system for Nigeria”.

 

Also lauding the leadership of the agency for recognising the heroes of Wild Polio Virus eradication, the WHO boss said; “As we celebrate this occasion, we need to continue to recognize the fallen heroes

during the fight against Wild Polio Virus, and rekindle the spirit of selflessness to motivate our foot-soldiers, health workers, traditional leaders, community informants to do more as we strive to cross the finish line.

 

“I believe with this spirit we will wittiness more improvement in the current cVDPV2 outbreak response. I must commend Government and Nigerians, for the 80% reduction of the burden of cVPDV2 cases among AFP cases despite peaking of the rainy season.

 

“This celebration should remind us that Nigerians can do more, and that with strong partnership, teamwork and accountability, achieving the priorities on primary health care

revitalization to improve routine immunization and other PHC services are just within reach”.

 

He assured Nigeria that WHO remains committed to supporting the priority agenda, and is confident that together the nation can cross the finish line for polio eradication very soon.

 

In his remarks, the minister of health, Osagie Ehanire said ” the past 3 years have been a mixed bag of events for the country as the impact of COVID-19 affected our health system, and also the emerging security in some parts of the country poses a challenge to the  onslaught of the re-emerging Variants of the Polio Viruses (cVPV2) which are remnants in the environment as a result of suboptimal environmental sanitation and can potentially be virulent and affect children who have not been enrolled in the Routine Immunization system.

 

He however said his office has directed and guided the NPHCDA to mount the needed response to deal with these viruses within an integrated framework in order to address other public health challenges including the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination in the country.

 

He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for giving the morale and financial support that the ministry needed to win the journey of Polio eradication.

 

The minister also hailed the Military and other security agencies that were providing security to the health workers to ensure they too have access to communities to deliver vaccines and other health interventions.

 

He said his ministry will remain committed to continue to support NPHCDA and partners to ensure that the needed resources are provided to maintain the eradication of all types of the poliovirus and strengthening routine immunization services.

 

On his part, the United Nation’s Children Fund (UNICEF) Chief of Health, Eduardo Celades said Nigeria has successfully sustained the victory over wild polio.

 

He said UNICEF is proud to have joined efforts by providing the life-saving

vaccines, generating demand for vaccine, partnering with the traditional leaders and religious leaders as well as key stakeholders to create a positive environment for vaccination, ensuring that leaders and teams were available to resolve vaccine hesitancy, and engaging almost twenty-thousand community members to encourage millions

of Nigerian mothers to take their children to the health facilities for

completion of their routine immunization.

 

According to him, “that is how we will

continue to sustain this remarkable polio achievement, through

strengthening routine immunisation and overall health system. Complacency is not an option, as polio could come back if we let our guards down, looking at what happened in Malawi and Mozambique, even in the UK and USA. Polio anywhere is polio everywhere”.

 

He maintained that Nigeria might have won the battle against wild polio, but he said the war against all types of polio is not yet over.

 

“A circulating variant of poliovirus is still affecting too many children in Nigeria. But again, thanks to our joint efforts, our perseverance, and strong conviction that the world without all forms of polio is possible, we have managed to control the situation.

 

“There is still a lot of work ahead of us. While we have reduced the number of zero dose children, the routine immunization rate remains low”.

 

He said it was time for Nigeria to further strengthen immunization, stating that, from its success in polio eradication, Nigeria learned to be persistent, vigilant,

and committed.

 

Noting further that Nigeria has established dedicated and trained frontline workers and community mobilizers, a strong network of

religious and traditional leaders and community members to support

the vaccination programme.

 

He said all the combined efforts served to strengthen the primary health care system.

 

“With everyone’s support in vaccinating all eligible children, Nigeria can ensure that child survival improves. With the same dedication and energy that sustained Nigeria WPV free, we can protect our children from preventable childhood-killer diseases.

 

Earlier in his speech, the Executive Director, NPHCDA, Faisal Shuaib said though Nigeria has been certified Wild Polio Virus free, it is not yet over as he hinted that the variants of polio virus is still emerging.

 

The Executive Director noted that the agency’s war against diseases was not only on polio, but on various life threatening health issue including COVID-19 pandemic.

 

He assured that the agency will continue to work with relevant stakeholders to ensure that vaccination is taken from 33% to 57 % in the country.