Friday, December 7, 2007

Polio Erradication: An Economic Investment



After a fifteen-year effort that has galvanized more than 200 countries, 20 million volunteers, and an international investment of US$3 billion, the success or failure of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, the world’s largest public health campaign, is now within reach1. Never before has the world been so close to success, with only six countries remaining polio-endemic in 2004. These countries – Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Niger, Afghanistan and Egypt – publicly pledged an all-out effort to end a disease that in recent memory crippled more than a thousand children every day. Ministers gathered at World Health Organization (WHO) Headquarters to sign the Geneva Declaration for the Eradication of Poliomyelitis, marking a historic step toward stopping poliovirus transmission in their countries by the end of 2004.

In 2007, four – Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan – of those six countries still carry the tag of polio endemic regions. According to the broad consensus by stakeholders leading the drive to eradicate polio by launching a final attack on the polio virus, indigenous wild poliovirus survives in only parts of the four countries2. With the raising and sustaining of awareness on vaccination and child immunity; polio can be stamped out of these areas.

Dr. Ezio Murzi, UNICEF Representative said: “Since 1988 when the eradication initiative was begun, polio held sway in more than 125 countries, paralyzing 1,000 children every day”3. In Nigeria, polio eradication was on track until the Oral Polio Vaccines controversy in 2003. The controversy which occurred in the northern part of Nigeria led to the significant increase of the wild poliovirus from 355 cases in 19 States in 2003 to 682 cases in 31 States today. Poliovirus can travel from village to village and country to country, through un-immunized children. Today United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), WHO, Rotary International (RI) and its national partners such as National Programme on Immunization (NPI) have slashed polio cases by more than 99 per cent; from 1,000 cases per day to 1,000 cases per year” but one un-immunized child anywhere puts children at risk everywhere. To return to the progressive track more effort is needed.



Dr. Dere Awosika, Chief Executive Officer of the National Programme on Immunization (NPI) has called on all Parents of children aged five years old and under, to ensure that their children are immunized According to Dr Awosika: “The future survival of our children is in our hands. Let us all join hands together and use all our resources to protect our children, who constitute our hope for this nation”.

Among the first major meetings of her term, the current WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan convened an urgent consultation on polio eradication on February 27, 20072. After reviewing the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Polio Eradication, which concluded in October 2006 that eradication was technically feasible in the remaining four endemic areas; Dr Chan has examined the progress made since October in Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. She concurs with the findings that eradication is feasible if enough children are vaccinated to stop transmission of the virus.

In one of the birth hospitals in Lagos Island (a principal city in Lagos State), Island Maternity about 2,400 babies are born in one year. The truth is that in Lagos Island and Lagos State generally, 50-60 per cent of babies are born outside the hospitals – in homes where Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) take delivery. Hospital data do not reflect the reality. The statistics that we have indicate that about 65 per cent of Nigerian babies are born outside the hospital4. So, if we must do anything meaningful, we need to go into the communities and use the power of the microphone to amplify our voices against polio.

At times I wonder if polio eradication in developing nations has not become an economic investment; yesterday, news said it is reducing, tomorrow news have it that it is spreading but for countries where the culture of “children are seen not heard” has only recently begun to face opposition; putting the microphone in the hands of college students will go a long way to continue the process of giving them a voice in an acceptable way. Having student organizations campaign against this disease that causes paralysis and having them raise fund to support credible initiatives will go a long way to show that students are a force for change and are able to add their voice to the clamor for immunization.


Note:
Some of the statistics used were from the following sources:
www.who.int/features/2004/polio/en/
www.polioeradication.org/content/general/LatestNews200702.asp
www.unicef.org/media/media_24127.html
Sun News Article by Enyeribe Ejiogu Tuesday, January 2, 2007

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