Nigeria moves to end polio

By Ihesiulo Grace

31 October 2017

News

Former Governor of Rotary, District 9125, Nigeria, Mr. Tolu Omatsola, said Rotarians in Nigeria are working tirelessly to ensure that the country is deleted among the polio endemic countries in the world in 2019.

Mr. Omatsola stated this on Monday in Jos, the Plateau state capital during a walk by a conglomeration of Rotry Clubs in Plateau to end polio in the country.

He lamented that the country was polio zero for almost two years and was about to be deleted from polio endemic countries in the world before the outbreak of fresh case in Borno State.

“When i got to Borno state and saw the little baby that had the virus at the IDP camp, i wept: that was the only case that thwarted our efforts because vaccinators could not access the area due to insecurity.

“It is time for all of us to put our thinking caps and make sacrifice by going to all the nook and crannies of the country to vaccinate children between 0-5 years of age to enable Nigeria to be deleted from polio endemic countries of the world in 2019.”

He advocated for a periodic polio immunization in Plateau, particularly Jos North and Jos South local government areas because the state is a gate way to the North East.

Plateau State Coordinator, Wold Health Organisation (WHO), Mr. Wadzingi Williams Bassi, said the polio case recorded in IDP camp in Borno was what deprived the country from being deleted among polio endemic countries of the world in 2017.

“Concerted effort need to be made by government in eradicating polio; every child must be reach no matter how remotely is his place of residence: presently, there are two inaccessible local government areas in Borno state and one in Yobe state that polio vaccinators cannot reach, due to insecurity and we don’t know what is happening there”.

“We pray that with the help of security, we should reach children in those areas before 2019 so that Nigeria and Africa can be declare polio free”.

Our correspondent reports that Nigeria few days back, joined the rest of the world to mark ‘World Polio Day.’