Rotary Club of Iyaganku Ibadan last Saturday sensitised residents of Oyo State on the importance of polio vaccination.
Speaking during a polio walk, the Club President, Akindayo Famoyegun, said the event is to mark the World Polio Day this week.
Famoyegun charged the Federal Government to partner the Rotary Club to donate towards polio eradication.
He disclosed that polio is a disabling and life threatening disease caused by poliovirus, which can infect a person’s spinal cord, leading to paralysis.
Famoyegun said “The exercise is to create awareness about polio that people should make sure that they treat their children from age 0 to 5 years.
“Nigeria has been free from polio and we are not going to stop treating polio, because when you want to conquer something, you have to keep on until it comes to an end. We are having new born babies everyday so we must keep on the gospel to always immunise children from 0 to 5 years.
“I will advise both the state and federal government, that they should join hands with Rotary Club to donate towards polio eradication. Rotary is the highest contributor all over the world. We donate a lot of money and contribute within ourselves just to eradicate polio.
“Governments at all levels should collaborate with Rotary International to end polio now.”
Also, Club Polio chair, Mrs Raliatu Anike Ali said the significance of the walk is to sensitise members of the public on the need for them to make sure they immunise their children.
Ali explains that the vaccine doesn’t harm but only prevents them from having the disease as they have to sensitise the parent to get this vaccine for their children.
She said: “Polio has done a lot of health hazard to children between the age of 0 to 5 years, Rotary has spent a lot of money to make sure that it eradicates polio disease globally, and moreover as long as we still have a child in the world who has the disease, it can be transmitted back to where they have already been eradicated.
“We started this eradication vaccine over 35 years ago. It’s only Pakistan and Afghanistan that are still facing polio disease and still trying not to let it flow out to other countries, so that is why we are marking the week, month.”
READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNEÂ
and then