Nigeria Hopes To Soon Join The List Of Countries Free From Polio

Its been one year since the last case of polio in Nigeria, raising hopes it will soon be taken off the list of endemic countries as the first step to being declared free of the disease.

The last case was in the Sumaila district of Kano state, in the country's north, one of only six in 2014 and well down on the 338 recorded in 2009, according to World Health Organization data.

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Since emergency operations center for polio was already in action, a laboratory where technicians could quickly diagnose the Ebola virus was always available.

Nigeria will be removed from the WHO list of polio-endemic countries in four to six weeks if samples sent for checking are found clear and surveillance data meets international standards.

But health professionals and campaigners said the fight is not over and warned about complacency, with another two years to go before polio-free status is achieved. "Interruption is a major milestone. But our aim is not just interruption but eradication," told Ado Muhammad, the executive director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency.

"We still have two years in which we need to keep polio out," added Oyewale Tomori, president of the Nigerian Academy of Science, who has worked on polio eradication for the past 45 years.

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Nigeria's battle against Polio has been hit by years of violence and misinformation, now it will be taken off the list of countries where the disease is endemic.

Muhammad, Tomori and global charities Rotary International and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation all called for both Nigeria and the international community to keep up the momentum.

The deputy director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Michael Galway, said Nigeria had made "incredible progress but the job isn't finished". "Continued leadership and domestic financing, high quality immunization campaigns and disease surveillance will be key" to achieving polio-free status, he added in an emailed statement.

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Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are the only countries where polio remains endemic. Surveillance programs and vaccination campaigns must continue there.

Nigeria and the two other countries on the polio-endemic list, Pakistan and Afghanistan, have all faced challenges in implementing immunization programs.

Immunization teams have been attacked and even killed while rumors were spread about the safety of the vaccine. But those involved in the programme say sustained political commitment and funding, as well as support from traditional rulers and religious leaders have helped turn around Nigeria's fortunes.

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There are a several reasons for the lack of progress in immunizations, including the cost of vaccines, weak health systems and lack of access in poorer countries.

Emergency operations centers improved coordination between partners while the establishment of health camps increased access to those at risk from polio and other childhood diseases. Systems put in place to tackle polio outbreaks were adapted last year to successfully eliminate the spread of Ebola in Nigeria.

Tunji Funsho, who heads Rotary International's polio programme in Nigeria, said Nigeria's example could provide a spur for Afghanistan and Pakistan in tackling the disease.

Source-AFP