Chioma Obinna
31 August 2004
Sequel to the reported new cases of the wild polio virus in the country put at 439, UNICEF in collaboration with the National Immunization Programme (NPI) last week held a two-day sensitization workshop for the mass media and NGO personnel with a view to developing a more pragmatic way of covering and reporting as well as propagating the dangers inherent in near eradication and incomplete routine immunization.
UNICEF has a Basic Cooperation Agreement with the Nigeria government for over three decades and its vision has been to be a passionate driving force that helps build a better world where all the rights of children are fulfilled.
Addressing, participants at the workshop tagged, "Consolidating the Gains of Polio Eradication Initiative and Improving Routine Immunization", UNICEF Lagos Chief Field Officer, Roger Brotralany who enumerated the dangers of incomplete immunization in the country, identified low political commitment and lack of ownership at the State and Local Government level as the major challenges facing immunization in Nigeria.
Brotralany who regretted that Nigeria is now one of the last three countries in the world to harbour polio disclosed that increasing number of children coming up with polio paralysis in the country should be a source of worry to every Nigerian.
His words, "Nigeria having the highest polio virus is delaying the global goal of polio eradication in the world and it has exported polio to neighboring countries like Niger Republic, Ghana, Benin Republic, Chad Burkina Faso and Togo putting children in the sub-regions as well as the African Continent at risk."
Brotralany further stated that continued virus circulation in the country is reinfecting the polio free states in the country and localized wild polio virus transmission intense in Kano, Kaduna, Kastina, Kebbi while Kano continues to be the global epicenter of polio.
In her paper entitled, "Global Polio Eradication Strategies" the Project Officer Social Mobilization of UNICEF, Mrs. Caroline Akosile, estimated that a world free of polio would save about $1.5 billion yearly in cost savings from immunization, treatment, rehabilitation and surveillance.
Stating that the global plan for polio was 2004, she affirmed that "Available data up to 6th of August 2004 of consistent increase and wide spread of wild poliovirus cases show that Nigeria has reported the highest number of wild poliovirus cases accounting for about 80 percent of the global wild polio virus cases- count and 89 percent of the cases in Africa since the beginning of the year.
Akosile who compared the number of cases between last year and this year, Akosile said a total of 439 cases have been reported between January and 25th of June 2004 in 30 states, while only 100 cases were reported from 15 states in 2003.
"Out of the 30 infected States seven states from the north accounts for 81 percent of the total cases count and only the month of May recorded the highest incidence of 111 cases in the country."
Akosile who was of the view that Nigeria can still eradicate polio by the end of the year, listed some field strategies which she said, has successfully eliminated the virus from American and the Western Pacific as Strong routine immunization, National Immunization Days, Acute Placcid Paralysis surveillance and mopping up immunization.
Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, in his paper" Social Responsibility of The Media in an Evolving Democracy" enjoined media practitioners not to see the Polio campaign as a mere health issues for the health workers and other stakeholders in the health sector, alone but to see it as all issues and for all citizens.
According to him, "Collective responsibility becomes inevitable if we are to have a near - free epidemic environment. In every country affected by vaccine preventable diseases and other diseases, the mass media have the potential to improve general awareness and provide thorough correct information about any epidemic."
However, Dr. Femi Onabanjo who was also from the University of Lagos, in his paper, "Roles and the Responsibilities of the Media n Propagating Immunization Messages to Nigerians" submitted that there is need for training and retraining of media practitioners on how to handle immunization messages.
Pointing out that health reporting should be done at the local language level instead of translating reported immunization stories into such local languages, he said, messages designed of health related issues must take cognizance of the heterogenous nature of the country as well as the rural - urban dichotomy.
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