Polio: Optimism As Nigeria Edges Towards Elimination
With just 11 confirmed polio cases so far in 2017, the world is on the brink of eradicating polio, a vaccine-preventable disease that once paralysed hundreds of thousands of children each year.
Currently the Wild Polio Virus, WPV, is circulating in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.
A country is regarded as polio free or non-endemic if no cases have been detected for a year.
However, it is still possible polio circulates under these circumstances, as was the case for Nigeria, where a particular strain of the Wild Polio Virus resurfaced after five years in August 2016. A health worker vaccinating children against polio.
In September 2015, the World Health organisation removed Nigeria from the list of polio endemic countries, however, polio made a return to the country in and efforts have since been on to get the eradication campaign back on track.
But for that setback, the nation would have been certified by the World Health Organisation, WHO, as a polio-free country in 2017.
According to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency NPHCDA, there has been no recent history of polio in Nigeria since August 2016.
Nigeria has been pursuing eradication of polio for more than two decades.
To be certified polio-free, the nation needs to maintain zero case status, strengthen surveillance system, improve routine immunisation and maintain high quality campaigns.
The road to eradication of polio is hinged more on improved vaccine coverage and supplementary immunisation.
According to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, eradication of polio in Nigeria will be the Foundation’s greatest achievement.
