FG Raises the Alarm over Poliovirus Outbreak in FCT, 13 States

Onyebuchi Ezigbo

About a year after the World Health Organisation (WHO) certified Nigeria polio-free, the federal government yesterday announced an outbreak of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in 13 states.

It listed the states as Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, FCT, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Lagos, Niger, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara.

WHO had on August 25, 2020, declared Nigeria as the last polio-endemic country in Africa and was officially certified free from polio after marking three consecutive years since the last case of wild polio had been identified.

The Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, said yesterday at a meeting of the Northern Traditional Leaders Committee on Primary Health Care Delivery (NTLC) in Abuja, that the agency had taken steps to address the health challenge.

He said: “As of today, we have to circulate vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) outbreaks in Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, FCT, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Lagos, Niger, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara and we have conducted four OBRs using the Novelle Oral Polio Vaccine, which is a preferred choice as it doesn’t seed the virus.”

Shuaib added that sub-optimal performance has been recorded in all the states due to the high number of missed children during the outbreak response, adding that the poor quality will affect how NPHCDA is able to bring the outbreak under control.

He attributed the apparent resurgence of cVDPV2 to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic after the country has been granted certification by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

“This year has been a challenging one due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected all areas of our lives, including the immunisation programme.

“Nigeria as we are all aware has been certified WPV-free by the ARCC; however, there are cases of cVDPV2 in some states, hence the need for us as a country to jealously guard our WPV-Free status and stop the cVDPV2 transmission in our communities,” he said.

Shuaib solicited the support of the traditional rulers in sourcing alternative local funding options for polio immunisation in view of the dwindling funds from foreign donors.

He also requested the support of the royal fathers in mobilising the people for the disease outbreak response campaigns and other subsequent rounds of the Polio vaccination.

“Your Highness, it is pertinent to state that donor funding for Polio has reduced drastically. We will therefore be relying on your influence in advocating to political leaders on the need to continue to fund polio outbreak response campaigns. I also wish to humbly request your continuous support in mobilising the people for the OBR campaigns and other subsequent rounds of the polio vaccination.

“I deeply appreciate your efforts in curbing the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria, especially at the community level. During the vaccination rollout, advocacy visits were made to some emirs, sensitisation meetings were also held to empower the traditional leaders with the right information about the vaccines,” he stated.

While reviewing the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination campaign, Shuaib said the initiative whereby strategic leadership were being vaccinated publicly had contributed to the successful phase 1 COVID-19 vaccination rollout, which formally ended on Monday.

On the reports of cases of vaccine hesitancy across the states, Shuaib said the agency had initiated measures to mitigate this challenge by holding meetings to address concerns of the public and increase uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine.

He explained that the meeting is to improve community knowledge of the facts and benefits of COVID-19 vaccination and to enhance community ownership and participation in the COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

According to him, henceforth, meetings will be conducted at four levels – zonal, state, local government areas and ward levels.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the Northern Traditional Leaders Committee on Immunisation and Primary Health Care, and Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Samaila Muhammad Mera, said the reality was that Nigeria was not yet out of the woods as cases of CVDPV2 had continued to spread even in states that have been declared polio-free for nearly seven years.