Now That Nigeria Is Polio-Free

If there is one piece of news making Nigerians happy, it is that from
the World Health Organisation (WHO) that the country has been removed
from the list of polio-endemic nations. The announcement is coming
after the historic achievement in interrupting the transmission of
wild poliovirus for a period of 15 months. With this development, only
two countries –Afghanistan and Pakistan now remain polio-endemic.
Before now, Nigeria accounted for over half of all polio cases
worldwide.

Therefore, the remarkable change in the narrative represents a great
positive leap forward.

According to WHO, the eradication of poliovirus is the result of a
concerted effort by all levels of government, civil society, religious
leaders and tens of thousands of dedicated health workers?

Even though removal from the list is not a definitive indication of
freedom from polio, there is cause for optimism that the two-year wait
to qualify for full polio-free certification will perfect Nigeria's
polio-free status. Much as welcome the news, Nigeria should not rest
on her oars, thinking that the last has been heard of this
debilitating disease. Rather, the country should see the effort to
keep the virus at bay as its responsibility and ensure that whether
financial aid comes from abroad or not, the feat achieved would not be
lost to bureaucracy and the perennial excuse of lack of funds that
form the pretext for not sustaining a set objective.

That is why we welcome President Muhammadu Buhari's pledge to keep up
the momentum as well as maintain and improve on the country's
surveillance system as well as raise the childhood population immunity
against the poliovirus. In addition, we urge institutions involved in
the fight against polio to continue to do everything they did right,
which helped in the achievement of the success story we are now
celebrating. In the light of this, they should continuously think out
ways to deepen the success accomplished, so that polio will forever
remain outdated in Nigeria.

Only three years ago, Nigeria looked like the last place that would
eliminate polio, a highly infectious and potentially fatal disease
that invades the nervous system and paralysed 1,000 children a day as
late as the 1980s.

Measured against other equally difficult health challenges, such as
HIV/AIDS and Malaria, the polio fight is certainly a great
achievement. Now that the world is within a 'touching distance' of
eradicating polio, Nigeria and the whole world can help make the last
round of the battle against polio less difficult by sensitising the
public, especially rural communities on the deadly danger of the
virus. There should be sensitisation programme on community hygiene
and other sanitary issues.

Against this backdrop, the country's political and health authorities
have their work cut out for them. It is necessary to provide
unrestricted running water to the people, and to ensure hygienic human
waste disposal, among other important actions. We therefore appeal to
governments at all levels, traditional and religious leaders, as well
as the private sector to redouble their efforts to keep this
paralysing and deadly scourge at bay.

--DailyTimes