Poverty, ignorance, men’s apathy among others has been identified as major factors hindering total eradication of polio in Nigeria, a Maternal and Child Health Advocate with the Archdiocesan Catholic Healthcare Initiative (ACHI), Mrs. Blessing Mbonu says.
According to her, men’s apathy is one dependent variable that must be addressed if campaign against polio and other child killer diseases will succeed in the country; adding that, in northern Nigeria most especially, full acceptance of polio vaccine is a challenge due to its misconception of making one unable to give birth – reducing Africa’s growing population.
To address some of the challenges, Mrs. Mbonu said, maintaining good hygiene and clean environment can prevent a lot of diseases including polio.
“We need to tell our people to maintain best hygiene because chances are that polio can be contacted through oral means. For instance, if somebody somewhere defecated openly, rain water may transport it to another community where children can unknowingly, while playing get it into their mouth. This is why hand washing is important too.
“The implication is that, once a child has the virus, there is possibility of transferring it to two or three children very fast due to their delicate body system.
“The way forward is all encompassing. This means religious leaders, men in the north, traditional leaders, influential people in the community, health workers, media and government should be at the forefront to lead a massive awareness campaign, because we just have to kick polio out of Nigeria, and out of Africa,” she said.
“Now, we need the awareness more during this raining season and ACHI is not taking that lightly at all. This season is when you have stagnant water, erosion and dirt spread in our communities,” she noted
Nigeria was about to be declared polio free in 2016, but two cases were reported in Borno State, northeast Nigeria.
