By Lucky Ekpenriebe
The Federal Government has assured that Nigeria’s free polio status remains intact despite the rising cases of mutant circulating vaccine-derived polio virus (CVDPV) in parts of the country.
The Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, made this known on Sunday, on the occasion of this year’s World Polio Day (WPD).
Addressing the media, Dr. Shuaib noted that to stop the circulation of the deviant forms in about 23 states across the federation, federal government was deploying a new tool, oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2), targeted at children of ages zero to 59 months.
According to the NPHCDA boss, who is also a consultant public health physician, this new tool is found to be more stable in the environment and less likely to cause ceding and changes of the polio virus to a mutant form that causes more spread and paralysis to Nigerian children.
Recall that Nigeria alongside the African region has been certified Wild Poliovirus (WPV)-free on August 25, 2020 after more than two decades of intensive and aggressive government-led mass vaccination campaigns, with the last case reported in 2016 in Borno state.
Dr. Shuaib said since the certification, the country has not recorded any case of transmission of WPV in any part whatsoever.
On this year’s WPD with the theme, “One Day. One Focus: Ending Polio – delivering on our promise of a polio-free world,” the NPHCDA joined Rotary International (RI), World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other development partners to appreciate the sacrifices of Nigeria’s heroes and heroines and reaffirm commitment to deliver on promise to maintain a polio-free Nigeria and a polio-free world.
The NPHCDA Director said though tremendous progress had been made globally and only two countries –Afghanistan and Pakistan – are endemic for the WPV, other mutant forms of the virus, have regrettably, continued to circulate in many African nations, including Nigeria.
“As we commemorate World Polio Day, we reaffirm our unalloyed determination and commitment to continue working with Rotary International and our development partners to ensure that every child everywhere in Nigeria is vaccinated with nOPV2 to stop the circulation of these mutant variants called vaccine-derived poliovirus.”
