By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
As Nigeria commemorates it’s third year of Wild Polio Virus, WPV, Free Certification by the World Health Organization, WHO, the Minister of Health, Dr. Ehanire Osagie has said that security challenges is in the country is still a mitigating factor against onslaught of re-emerging polio variant.
Osagie made this known yesterday in Abuja as Nigeria marked the milestone day.
He said, ” The emerging security in some parts of the country poses a challenge to the onslaught of the re-emerging Variants of the Polio Viruses (cVPV2) which are remnants in the environment as a result of suboptimal environmental sanitation.”
The remnant variants can affect children who have not been enrolled in the Routine Immunization system, he stressed.
According to the Health Minister the ministry is not resting on it’s oasis as it has directed and guided the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, to mount the needed response to deal with these viruses within an integrated framework as a way of addressing other public health challenges including the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination in the country.
Also the UNICEF Chief of Health, Eduardos Celades in his speech to join Nigeria in celebrating the historic success of achieving a wild-polio virus free certification, noted that the battle against all variants is not yet over.
Celades said, ” We might have won the battle against wild polio, but the war against all types of polio is not yet over. A circulating variant of poliovirus is still affecting too many children in Nigeria.
There is still a lot of work ahead of us. While we have reduced the number of zero dose children, the routine immunization rate remains
low.
It is time for Nigeria to further strengthen immunization, the UNICEF Chief admonished.
Meanwhile, UNICEF commended all key stakeholders who contributed to the milestone achievement like traditional, religious leaders, Frontline Health workers, vaccinations, teams who resolved vaccine hesitancy in communities and mothers who take their children to the health facilities for completion of their routine immunization.
