It is no longer news that there have been new cases of poliomyelitis reported in Nigeria just two years after the WHO declared the nation free of the wild poliovirus (WPV).
After three years of reporting no cases of WPV, Nigeria was given the all-clear on August 25, 2020.
According to Dr. Ibrahim Mustafa, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board (LSPHCB), the virus’s return to the nation was caused by a low rate of routine immunization.
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the Lagos State Government have launched the Polio Outbreak Response (OBR) Campaign to stop the spread, according to Mustafa, who made this announcement in a statement on Sunday in Lagos.
He said the campaign was necessary to keep the nation’s polio-free status and to prevent a setback in its laudable accomplishments.
According to him, the campaign will take place between Jan. 21 and 24 in all Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas of the state.
“The campaign aims to vaccinate all children, aged 0 to five years, with two drops of the oral polio vaccine, regardless of their previous vaccination status to prevent poliomyelitis that may result in paralysis of the limbs or death,” he said.
Mustafa said that vaccination teams would visit residential homes, schools, Churches, Mosques, gated estates, and all public places where eligible children could be found.
“In view of this, we solicit all parents, guardians, community leaders, pastors and imams to ensure that all eligible children are vaccinated during the campaign in all our communities,” he said.
Mustafa added that routine immunisation services would be available at the primary health centres during the campaign.
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