World Polio Day: Rotary Urges Stronger Political Will To End Scourge

AS the world marks Polio Day today, an initiative that educates people about polio, its causes and means of prevention, Rotary International is urging governments and the private sector to provide necessary financial, political and community support to promote vaccine uptake, especially in communities where there are vaccine refusal cases.

This, Rotary said, is necessary to ensure total eradication of polio in Nigeria.

Chairman of the Nigeria National PolioPlus Committee (NNPPC) of Rotary International, Dr. Tunji Funsho, and Governor, Rotary International District 9125, Dr. Mike Omotosho, who spoke with journalists in Abuja, yesterday, noted that the Nigerian experience had shown that battling Polio is not only about vaccinations, but also about waging a complex war of logistics and winning over the hearts and minds of people.

He noted: “A valuable lesson from Nigeria is that containing polio requires a multi-layered campaign that goes beyond vaccine administration. One key aspect is to continue to address head-on the rumours and myths about Polio vaccine that created bottlenecks for the campaigns in the post. Also, local volunteers, many of whom are Rotarians, should continue doing the good job of rebuilding trust on the Polio vaccine.”

On how Nigeria can remain polio free, he noted: “Nigeria has brought the world one major step closer to being polio free. To achieve this goal, it is critical that everyone is part of seizing this opportunity to end polio for good and ensure that future generations of children are free from this devastating disease. Nigerians home and abroad were delighted over the announcement that Nigeria is no longer on the polio-endemic list. Though an important milestone, we must remain polio free for two more years to be declared polio free, which is the ultimate goal.