The Kwara state government said on Friday that it targets about 1.5 million children of zero to five years of age for the polio vaccine across the 16 local government areas of the state in the second round of the vaccination exercise.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on the commencement of the second round of Polio vaccination, the state executive secretary of the Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Nusirat Elelu, said that the second round of the
poliomyelitis vaccination will commence on Saturday, April 20, 2024.
Elelu, who said that the vaccination is free for all children zero to five years of age, added that the state government has ensured that the Immunisation Certificate (Purple Cards) will now be issued free for all children who have completed their routine vaccination.
According to her, over 500 health facilities are providing routine immunisation (RI) with strong cold room chain systems in the state.
She said that the support and financial commitment of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq had enabled the agency to reach over 1.5 million children with the life-saving polio vaccine during the first round that took place in March 2024.
Elelu described polio as a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under five years of age.
She explained that the virus is transmitted person-to-person and spreads mainly through the faecal-oral route or contaminated water or food.
“According to the World Health Organisation, more than 20 million people are able to walk today who would otherwise have been paralysed due to these global preventive campaigns.
“Wild poliovirus cases have decreased by 99 per cent since 1988, from an estimated 350,000 cases in more than 125 endemic countries to six reported cases in 2021,” she said.
The executive secretary also said that wild poliovirus type 2 was eradicated in 1999, while wild poliovirus type 3 was eradicated in 2020.
She, however, said that in 2023, wild polio type 1 will still be endemic in two countries in the world, including Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Elelu stated that the African region was certified polio-free in 2020, following the acceptance of Nigeria’s documentation for polio certification, adding that Nigeria was the last country in the Afro-region to become polio-free.
She explained further that the agency, with the support of the state government, will ensure hard-to-reach areas of the state are fully accessed for the vaccination.
She also appealed to mothers and carers to disregard any fake misinformation about the vaccines, saying that they are safe and efficacious with no fear of overdose.
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