World Polio Day: Rotary Sensitises Nursing Mothers to Hygiene

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

As part of its effort to ensure that Nigeria remained a polio free country, the Rotary Club of Port Harcourt Express, District 9141 in Rivers State has sensitised nursing mothers on the need to maintain personal hygiene at all times in order to prevent spread of the disease.

President of the Rotary Club, Mr. Shittu Abdulrasheed, made the sensitisation when he addressed nursing mothers at an event to mark the 2023 World Polio Day, which was held at Rumukwurusi Model Health Centre in Port Harcourt.

Abdilrasheed stated that even though that Nigeria has been declared a polio free country by the World Health Organisation (WHO), nursing mothers must maintain personal hygiene and regularly immunise to protect them from being infected by not just polio but any other disease.

He said: “We have told them basically that it is very important that every newborn is immunised, and that mothers have a duty to ensure that they practice good personal hygiene, they should wash their hands regularly before preparing food for their kids and after using the toilets.

“Good personal hygiene is going to prevent not just polio but other diseases so that we can have healthy babies, healthy mothers and a healthy nation.”

Abdulrasheed said that the organisation is committed to kicking polio completely out of the world.

“We know that we are 99 percent in kicking polio out of the world, so in case you are wondering why we are still fighting polio, the truth is, so long as polio remains in two countries of the world such as Afghanistan and Pakistan, no child anywhere is safe and Rotary has been involved in this fight including our partners and we intend to fight it till we eradicate polio completely from the surface of the earth,” Abdulrasheed stated.

An ex-president of the club, Ms. Faith Ogbu, said that the organisation is reaching out to all nooks and crannies of the world, including rural areas to ensure that no trace of polio is found.

“We have not stopped our campaigns; we are there in rural communities and all over the world, telling them on the need to kick out polio. Rotary will not give up until every child is certified free of polio,” she said.

A beneficiary, Mrs. Favour Chinedu, called on other agencies to emulate the Rotary Club in carrying out charitable activities especially to nursing mothers and the less privileged in the society.