100 million African children vaccinated against polio in one year: WHO
No fewer than 100 million African children have been vaccinated against polio in the past one year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.
WHO Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, said though COVID-19 had threatened the success of polio vaccination, it was possible to overcome the final hurdles.
Ms Moeti, in a statement, stated that WHO had the know-how, but needed to be backed by committed resources to reach all under-vaccinated communities.
The polio programme has a history of supporting the response to emerging health threats in the region, including Ebola and COVID-19, and half of polio surge staff are currently helping countries with COVID-19 surveillance, contact tracing and community engagement.
According to WHO, African states overseen by its African Regional Office, remained committed to ending all remaining forms of polio.
The Regional Office has also presented a scorecard to track progress towards the eradication of the virus as Africa was certified free of wild poliovirus one year ago, after four years without a case.
However, outbreaks of a vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV) is spreading in African communities where too few children have received the polio vaccine.
cVDPV is a weakened strain of the virus that has changed over time and behaves more like the naturally occurring poliovirus.
Since 2018, 23 African countries have experienced outbreaks and more than half of the 1071 global cVDPV cases were recorded in Africa.
According to WHO, cases increased in 2020 partly because of disruptions to polio vaccination campaigns caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
World
EU sanctions Israeli settlers over violence in West Bank
Those subject to sanctions would no longer be allowed to enter the EU or do business with EU citizens.
Health
Governor Otu provides N100 million to improve nutrition in Cross River
Mr Otu said the move would increase food production, availability, accessibility, and affordability in Cross River.
Faith
Police arraign two teenagers for stealing phone from mosque
The prosecutor said the offence contravened sections 287, 411, and 308 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.
World
G7 warns Israel, Iran against escalation, reaffirms support for Ukraine
The G7 also maintained steadfast support for Ukraine over two years after Russia’s invasion.
States
UNICEF tasks Kano, Jigawa, Katsina on improved primary healthcare
He stressed the need for the governments of the three states to ensure an integrated package of primary health services for families in one functional health facility.
States
Driver arrested for ‘cramming’ 15 children into car in Lagos
Mr Hundeyin said the driver, who was contracted to transport the children to a beach, locked four in the car trunk and crammed 11 others together in the vehicle.