(Source: Sunday Alabama/Associated Press)
Published December 31, 2014, last updated on October 17, 2017 under Voices of DGHI
The blog post below was originally submitted to the course blog for Global Health Challenges, a first-year core course in the Master of Science in Global Health program. It is re-posted here as a way to feature the interdisciplinary context of our program and conversations prominent among our students.
By Farouk Farouk
MSc-GH Candidate
“We are so very close,” I tell myself when I hear Dr. Muhammad Pate discuss the case of polio eradication in Nigeria in our Global Health Challenges class.
According to Dr. Pate, a driving force in the national polio eradication initiative, Nigeria is doing “reasonably well” in terms of interrupting polio transmission, especially in the northern region. Amidst major setbacks in the campaign, including negative public perceptions of the oral polio vaccine, political barriers, and even violence on immunization workers, Nigeria still remains strong in its effort. For me personally, my interest in the ongoing progression of this goal is one of excitement and intrigue.
My visits to Nigeria (my ancestral hometown) when I was younger almost always involved seeing the scores of individuals that suffered from the paralytic effects of polio. Most had deformed limbs or lost either their arms or legs completely. Polio knew no gender nor age group. They would live in the bustling streets of Kano City, asking for money as cars would fly by. It was eerie to see them in such a state, especially when it was seemingly ubiquitous.
However, that picture would have been the reality about 10 years ago. In my more recent summer visits, I have realized that the relative number of polio-stricken individuals have considerably reduced (at least on the streets). While a majority of cases currently are located in isolated (and thus hard-to-reach) villages, the push for the eradication of polio post-2008 has resulted in a record low number of cases. These encouraging results can be attributed to the valiant efforts of Nigeria’s Presidential Task Force on Polio Eradication, then-led by Dr. Pate. Through the initiative’s efforts, immunization campaigns were established to reach throughout some of the most high-risk northern states including Kano, Kaduna, and Borno. They allayed public fears and suspicions of the polio vaccine, which was thought to cause infertility or HIV, by going from village to village in order to educate and provide much needed immunizations for children under 5. Through the Save One Million Lives Campaign, the administering of polio vaccines were also coupled with providing much needed health incentives, which included measles vaccines and bed nets in order to encourage participation.
Such radical advances attest to the resilience of Nigeria’s commitment to eradicating polio, following India’s recent success. For Dr. Pate, he is optimistic that polio will be eradicated by 2018. However, that is dependent on the continued drive and interest to focus on a disease that is admittedly not in the spotlight currently, in relation to other diseases such as the Ebola outbreak. From his point of view, if Nigeria lost interest in combating polio in the future, that momentum would be lost and may never be established again.
As for me, I am very hopeful as well. Learning about polio and its impact on my country as I grew up, coupled with my interest in health and a sense of obligation to give back, has compelled me to closely monitor Nigeria’s progress. Not everything is known about the myriad of factors that influence the interruption of polio in the country, and more research is needed. Of particular interest to me so far is studying if the efficacy of the oral polio vaccine differs among those who are malnourished versus those who are otherwise healthy. Or maybe I could analyze the extent of how vaccine-derived polio cases are hindering progress. The research possibilities are extensive.
What’s important for all of us (and especially Nigeria) is to keep vigilant, keep probing, and keep strong. We will have another global eradication under our belt sooner than we think.
