COVID-19, insecurity fuels re-emerging poliovirus variants, says Minister

The federal government has disclosed that the impact of COVID-19 and the emerging insecurity in some parts of the country are challenges to the onslaught of the re-emerging variants of the polioviruses.

The minister of health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire said this, on Thursday, in Abuja during the third anniversary of wild poliovirus eradication in the country.

Ehanire said the day did not come easy as the government and the development partners made huge investments and sacrifices over the years.

According to him: “The day may have come too late for those who have been paralysed and those frontline health workers who paid the supreme price for the triumph of eradicating the disease. However, for the millions of children who are prevented from the crippling effects of WPV these sacrifices will not go in vain and therefore the significance of commemorating this day.”

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• COVID-19, insecurity fuels re-emerging poliovirus variants, says Minister
• COVID-19, insecurity fuels re-emerging poliovirus variants, says Minister

“The main focus of today is to appreciate those heroes and champions from both government and our development partners who made huge investments and sacrifices and also to create awareness in our people that it takes even greater investments and sacrifices to sustain and maintain our WPV eradication status.

“The past 3 years have been a mixed bag of events for the country as the impact of COVID-19 affected our health system, and also the emerging security in some parts of the country poses a challenge to the onslaught of the re-emerging Variants of the Polio Viruses (cVPV2) which are remnants in the environment as a result of suboptimal environmental sanitation and can potentially be virulent and affect children who have not been enrolled in the routine immunisation system.”

Ehanire, however, said the National Primary Health Care Agency (NPHCDA) has been directed and guided to mount the needed response to deal with these viruses within an integrated framework to address other public health challenges including the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination in the country.

“But we’ve done an incredible job of trying to reduce the numbers of children in Nigeria who have come down with paralysis.

The UNICEF chief of health, Eduardo Celades commended the Nigerian government and partners in defeating the WPV adding that the war against all types of polio is not yet over.

“A circulating variant of poliovirus is still affecting too many children in Nigeria. But again, thanks to our joint efforts, our perseverance, and strong conviction that the world without all forms of polio is possible, we have managed to control the situation,” Celades said.

“I believe with this spirit we will wittiness more improvement in the current cVDPV2 outbreak response. I must commend the government and Nigerians, for the 80 percent reduction in the burden of cVPDV2 cases among AFP cases despite the peaking of the rainy season.

“This celebration should remind us that Nigerians can do more and that with a strong partnership, teamwork and accountability, achieving the priorities on primary health care revitalisation to improve routine immunisation and other PHC services are just within reach.”