Nigeria celebrates 2015 World Polio Day in style, as WHO DG Visits the country

It will be a great honour for Nigerians to have the personality of the DG of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr. Margaret Chan coming down all the way to felicitate with us on the great feat of conquering polio, as well as to formally pronounce the nation free from the virus in person.

As 24 October of every year is set aside to increase awareness about polio virus and to encourage further actions to reduce it from spread, the World Health Organization (WHO) is set to formally pronounce the delisting of Nigeria as a polio endemic country before President Muhammadu Buhari.

In expressing the significance of the event, which is scheduled for the State House next Monday, the country will be hosting the Director-General of WHO, Dr. Margaret Chan, who will be represented by WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso R. Moeti.

According to the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Mr. Linus Awute, in an interview with P.M, he said that the Regional Director will meet with Mr. President to formally announce to the Government of Nigeria the WHO’s decision to remove Nigeria from the list of Polio endemic countries, as a recognition of the immediate achievement of Nigeria in stopping the transmission of the Wild Polio Virus for a period of fourteen months, which has exceeded WHO’s target for interruption.

The Regional Director, Dr. Moeti, is also expected to emphasize to policy makers and major stakeholders, that despite tremendous progress in Nigeria, complacency is not a luxury at the disposal of the Government and partners until the gains of this great feat is sustained for two years to be able to achieve the certification of Nigeria as a Polio-free nation by 2017.

It will be recalled that on 25 September 2015, WHO declared Nigeria Polio free, which implies that polio is no longer endemic in Nigeria, and this is the first time that Nigeria has interrupted transmission of wild poliovirus, bringing the country and the African region closer than ever to being certified polio-free.

Presently, only two countries -Pakistan and Afghanistan, are still battling with the polio virus.

Facts about polio
Polio affects children mainly below the age of five, but immune and partially immune adults can still be affected by the disease.
Although the most visible sign of polio is paralysis; only one percent of the effects of the disease is likely to be paralysis.
Polio has no symptoms and can spread widely before paralysis is visible. Those affected by polio are often not aware that hey have the disease.
It is passed through person to person contact. The disease has been eliminated in most countries in the world. There is no treatment for polio. However, the disease can be prevented through vaccination.